LETTERS  OF 
JOHN   PAUL  JONES 


LETTERS  OF        ; 
JOHN  PAUL  JONES 


PRINTED  FROM  THE  UNPUBLISHED  ORIGINALS  IN 
MR.  W.  K.  BIXBY'S  COLLECTION 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS  BY 

GENERAL  HORACE  PORTER 

AND 

FRANKLIN  B.  SANBORN 


BOSTON  :  MDCCCCV 

PRINTED  EXCLUSIVELY   FOR  MEMBERS  OF 

THE  BIBLIOPHILE  SOCIETY 


Copyright,   1905,  by 
THE  BIBLIOPHILE  SOCIETY 


AH  rights  reserved 


IT  is  due  to  the  generosity  of  Mr.  W.  K.  Bixby  that 
The  Bibliophile  Society  is  permitted  to  issue  for  its 
members  this  little  volume  of  letters  written  by  John 
Paul  Jones  while  in  our  country's  service  during  the 
American  Revolution.  The  original  letters,  which 
are  now  almost  priceless  relics  of  that  period,  form 
a  part  of  Mr.  Bixby 's  private  collection. 

The  entire  cost  of  issuing  this  volume  (one  copy 
of  which  is  printed  for  each  member)  has  been  paid 
from  the  surplus  fund  in  the  Society's  treasury  re 
maining  over  from  last  year.  There  is,  therefore, 
no  charge  for  the  work. 

The  grateful  acknowledgments  of  the  Council  are 
due  to  General  Porter  and  Mr.  Sanborn  for  their 
introductory  remarks,  which  are  free-will  contribu 
tions. 


746676 


THE  FOLLOWING  NOTE  WAS  WRITTEN  BY 
GENERAL  HORACE  PORTER,  FORMERLY 
AMERICAN  AMBASSADOR  TO  FRANCE, 
ESPECIALLY  FOR  THIS  VOLUME  OF  LET 
TERS  OF  JOHN  PAUL  JONES 

JOHN  PAUL  JONES'S  life  was  an  open  book. 
It  contained  no  sealed  chapters.  If  the  his 
torical  facts  related  of  him  were  entirely 
destroyed,  nearly  all  the  events  of  his  ex 
traordinary  career  would  be  found  recorded 
in  his  letters,  diaries,  and  memoranda.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  prolific  writers  of  the 
Revolutionary  period,  rivaling  even  Wash 
ington  himself  in  that  respect.  When  we 
reflect  that  in  that  age  one  could  not  com 
mand  the  services  of  stenographers  and 
typewriters,  we  realize  the  prodigious  labor 
involved  in  such  a  voluminous  mass  of  cor 
respondence.  In  the  case  of  Paul  Jones,  he 
did  not  confine  his  writings  to  his  native  lan 
guage,  but  employed  also  those  of  other 

7 


countries.  He  possessed  in  a  high  degree 
the  gift  of  acquiring  foreign  tongues.  He 
spoke  French  and  Spanish,  and  while  there 
is  no  authentic  proof  as  to  how  well  he  wrote 
the  latter,  we  know  that  much  of  his  cor 
respondence  was  conducted  in  very  good 
French.  While  he  wrote  that  language  in 
a  somewhat  labored  manner  and  made  at 
times  one  or  two  drafts,  with  corrections, 
of  an  important  communication  before  he 
prepared  the  final  copy,  he  expressed  his 
thoughts  correctly  and  felt  quite  sure  of 
himself  in  writing  as  well  as  in  speaking 
that  tongue. 

His  style  was  elaborate  and  the  sentences 
were  carefully  rounded,  which  gave  his  writ 
ten  documents  the  appearance  of  having 
been  well  studied.  This,  however,  was  char 
acteristic  of  most  public  men  at  that  time, 
and  in  the  case  of  Paul  Jones  it  was  probably 
emphasized  by  the  fact  that  his  style  was 
influenced,  perhaps  unconsciously,  by  the 
genius  of  the  French  language,  which  often 
requires  elaborated  sentences  and  para 
phrases  to  express  an  idea  with  proper  dig 
nity  and  elegance. 

8 


The  publication  at  this  time  of  this  volume 
of  letters  (two  of  which  are  given  in  fac 
simile)  cannot  fail  to  be  of  absorbing  in 
terest,  as  they  present,  in  a  graphic  and  pe 
culiarly  attractive  form,  communications  of 
rare  historic  value,  and  at  the  same  time  ex 
hibit  those  distinctive  traits  of  the  man,  to 
which  the  handwriting  is  often  the  clearest 
attestation. 

HORACE  PORTER 


THE  extraordinary  career  of  John  Paul 
Jones  has  been  the  occasion  of  so  many 
biographies,  the  theme  of  so  many  novels, 
from  Fenimore  Cooper  and  Allan  Cunning 
ham  to  Winston  Churchill  and  Miss  Jewett, 
that  his  name  is  now  better  known  than  that 
of  any  other  American  naval  hero.  Not  so 
well  known,  probably,  is  his  untiring  indus 
try  as  a  letter-writer,  and  his  proclivity  to 
quarrels;  though  these  traits  are  sometimes 
dwelt  on  to  his  disparagement  by  his  biog 
raphers.  It  would  be  easy  to  explain  his 
quarreling  by  the  reason  General  Jackson  is 
said  to  have  given,  when  testifying  in  favor 
of  a  Tennessee  friend  on  trial  for  manslaugh 
ter,  and  upon  whom  the  prosecution  wished 
to  fasten  the  imputation  of  being  quarrel 
some:  "My  friend  Patten  Anderson,  sir," 
cried  the  old  hero,  fixing  his  severe  gaze  on 
the  attorney,  "was  the  natural  enemy  of  all 
scoundrels,  ever  since  I  knew  him."  Doubt- 

11 


less  Jones  had  to  encounter  many  a  scoun 
drel  in  his  active  and  stormy  voyage  of  life; 
but  he  was  also  prone  to  ascribe  knavery 
and  small  meannesses  to  worthy  gentlemen 
with  whom  he  had  a  difference  of  opinion, — 
as  in  his  clashes  with  Captain  Saltonstall 
and  his  friend,  John  Adams,  or  with  Colonel 
John  Langdon.  It  was  the  impetuosity,  sen 
sitiveness,  and  magnanimity  of  Jones  which 
took  offence  so  easily,  and  were  wont  to 
be  so  easily  appeased,  in  the  three  or  four 
quarrels  to  which  these  letters,  now  for  the 
first  time  printed,  casually  allude.  These 
are  of  three  successive  year-dates, — 1776, 
1779,  and  1782-83;  and  they  all  relate  to 
periods  of  his  service  in  our  Revolution,  and 
to  his  disappointments  therein. 

The  two  short  letters  of  June  20,  1776, 
to  Colonel  Tillinghast,  a  Rhode  Island  naval 
agent,  relate  to  a  cruise  in  the  war  sloop 
Providence,  of  which  Jones  was  made  cap 
tain,  May  10.  On  June  13  he  was  ordered 
by  the  naval  commander-in-chief,  Esek  Hop 
kins,  to  convoy  Lieutenant  Hoysted  Hacker 
in  the  Fly  into  Long  Island  Sound  from 
Newport  for  New  York,  and  then  to  convoy 

12 


other  vessels  from  Stonington  to  Newport, 
after  which  he  was  to  go  to  Boston.  The 
first  letter  shows  him  just  sailing  thither,  and 
indulging  some  spleen  against  Captain  Sal- 
tonstall,  the  "master  of  the  Alfred"  and 
the  "ill-natured  and  narrow-minded"  favor 
ite  of  John  Adams.  The  "Admiral"  was 
Hopkins  himself. 

The  muster-roll  of  the  Providence,  from 
a  copy  long  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  gives  a 
particular  value  to  this  part  of  the  corre 
spondence. 

The  short  paper  in  French,  with  endorse 
ment  by  Jones,  relates  to  the  uneasiness  of 
the  Dutch  vice-admiral  at  the  Texel  in  Hol 
land,  where  Jones  in  the  Serapis  had  been 
refitting  since  October  3,  1779,  from  the  in 
juries  inflicted  in  the  famous  sea-fight  of 
September  23.  He  had  been  closely  ques 
tioned,  November  4,  by  this  officer,  about  his 
French  commission.  "  I  told  him,"  wrote 
Jones  on  that  date,  "that  my  French  com 
mission  not  having  been  found  among  my 
papers  since  the  loss  of  the  Poor  Richard,  I 
feared  it  had  gone  to  the  bottom  in  that  ship." 

13 


On  December  13  he  sent  Franklin  at  Paris 
his  angry  reply  to  the  French  ambassador  at 
the  Hague,  refusing  a  French  privateer's 
commission,  which  was,  no  doubt,  the  "  acte 
qui  lui  a  ete  adresse  mentioned  as  "  a  false 
hood"  by  Jones,  who,  at  the  date  of  his  en 
dorsement,  was  on  board  the  French  ship 
Alliance.  This  brief  script  opens  up  a  long 
controversy,  in  which  scanty  justice  was 
finally  done  to  Jones  by  the  French  and  the 
American  naval  departments. 

How  the  British  admiralty  regarded  Jones 
as  its  most  formidable  foe  will  best  be  seen 
by  the  letter  of  Lord  Sandwich  to  one  of  the 
British  captains,  the  original  of  which  is  now 
among  the  MSS.  of  the  Massachusetts  His 
torical  Society.  His  Lordship,  satirized  in 
his  day  by  the  poet  Gray  and  others  as 
"Jemmy  Twitcher,"  wrote  thus: 

To  Captain  Francis  Reynolds,  (Lord  Dude): 

ADMIRALTY  Nov.  23<?  1779 

.  .  .  For  God's  sake  get  to  sea  instantly,  in  conse 
quence  of  the  orders  you  have  received;  if  you  can 
take  Paul  Jones  you  will  be  as  high  in  the  estimation 
of  the  publick  as  if  you  had  beat  the  combined  fleets; 
the  whole  of  the  business  depends  on  despatch. 

14 


Therefore  not  a  moment  is  to  be  lost  on  any  consider 
ation.  I  flatter  myself  that  after  what  I  have  said  I 
need  only  add  that  I  am 

your  very  sincere  friend  &  faithfull  servant 
SANDWICH. 

This  Earl  was  then  First  Lord  of  the  Ad 
miralty  of  England;  he  was  a  descendant  of 
that  more  martial  earl  of  Charles  Second's 
time,  celebrated  by  Pepys  in  his  Diary. 

Admiral  Belknap,  of  the  American  navy, 
in  a  paper  read  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  in  March, 
1899,  quoted  from  a  song  familiar  to  Lon 
don  streets  in  1780,  which  linked  the  name 
of  Sandwich  with  that  of  Jones  very  sar 
castically,  thus: 

Of  heroes  and  statesmen  I  '11  just  mention  four 
That  cannot  be  matched  if  we  trace  the  world  o'er; 
For  none  of  such  fame  ever  stept  o'er  the  stones 
As  Germain,  Jemmy  Twitcher,  Lord  North  and  Paul 
Jones. 

If  success  to  our  fleets  be  not  quickly  restored, 
The  leaders  in  office  we  '11  shove  from  the  board; 
May  they  all  fare  alike, — and  the  Dev'l  pick  the  bones 
Of  Germain,  Jemmy  Twitcher,  Lord  North  and  Paul 
Jones ! 

15 


The  next  ten  letters  relate  to  the  building, 
launching,  and  giving  up  to  the  French  na 
tion  of  the  new  ship  America,  which  Jones 
was  to  have  commanded,  with  the  entire 
good  will  of  his  former  opponent,  John 
Adams,  who  wrote  to  him  from  the  Hague, 
August  12,  1782,  that  "the  command  of  the 
America  could  not  have  been  more  judi 
ciously  bestowed,"  and  that  he  wished  he 
"could  see  a  prospect  of  having  half-a- 
dozen  line-of-battle  ships  under  the  Ameri 
can  flag,  commanded  by  Commodore  Paul 
Jones,  engaged  with  an  equal  British  force." 
This  was  never  to  happen;  for  before 
Adams's  letter  could  reach  Portsmouth, 
Congress  (September  3,  1782)  had  voted 
to  give  the  new  ship  to  France,  to  replace 
the  Magnifique,  lost  in  Boston  Harbor.  On 
June  26,  1781,  Congress  had  appointed 
Jones  to  command  the  unfinished  ship,  and 
in  August  following  he  went  to  Portsmouth 
to  cooperate  with  Colonel  Langdon  in  finish 
ing  her.  On  the  way  he  delivered  the  follow 
ing  letter  of  introduction  from  General  John 
Sullivan,  then  a  Congressman  from  New 
Hampshire,  to  President  Weare  in  his  farm- 

16 


house  at  Hampton  Falls,  and  dined  with  the 
good  old  patriot  there : 

PHILADELPHIA,  July  3,  1781. 

Dear  Sir, —  I  take  the  liberty  of  introducing  to  your 
particular  notice  the  Chevalier  John  Paul  Jones, 
Esquire,  sent  to  Portsmouth  by  Congress  to  take 
command  of  the  America.  Every  mark  of  civility 
which  you  may  think  proper  to  show  to  this  gentle 
man  will  be  considered  as  confered  on, 

Sir,  your  Most  Obedient  Servant, 

JNO.  SULLIVAN. 

Sullivan's  own  home  was  at  Durham,  on 
one  of  the  branches  of  the  Piscataqua,  some 
dozen  miles  above  where  the  America  had 
been  begun,  four  years  before,  on  Langdon's 
Island  in  that  river,  and  his  friend  Colonel 
Langdon  had  general  charge  of  its  construc 
tion.  Jones  found  Colonel  Langdon  and 
his  brother,  Judge  Woodbury  Langdon,  both 
at  Portsmouth,  and  in  these  letters  mention 
is  made  of  both  families.  At  this  time,  how 
ever,  John  Langdon  was  not  Governor  of  the 
State,  as  might  be  inferred  from  a  quotation 
from  Jones's  lieutenant,  Hall,  made  by  Buell 
in  his  Life  of  Jones.  The  title  of  "  Gov 
ernor"  was  then  unknown  to  the  Constitu- 

17 


tion  of  New  Hampshire,  and  its  chief  magis 
trate  was  called  " President"  until  1793. 
Langdon  was  President  in  1785  and  1788, 
Governor  from  1805  to  1809,  and  again  in 
1810  and  1811. 

On  the  following  September  25,  1781, 
Robert  Morris,  head  of  the  Marine  Bureau 
at  Philadelphia,  wrote  to  Jones  at  Ports 
mouth  by  John  Brown,  then  on  his  way  to 
Boston,  "to  fix  on  a  Deputy  Agent  for 
Naval  Affairs,"  in  which  capacity  Brown 
himself  had  served.  Morris  was  then 
"  pleased  to  learn  that  the  work  on  the  Amer 
ica  is  progressing  so  well,"  and  hoped  that 
Brown  would  succeed  in  furnishing  such 
funds  as  might  be  needed,  etc.  Brown 
seems  to  have  remained  for  a  time  at  Bos 
ton,  and  through  him  Jones  attempted  to 
arrange  some  "  affair  of  the  heart,"  of  which 
mention  is  once  or  twice  made.  This  may 
have  relation  to  "the  all-accomplished  De 
lia"  in  France,  to  whom  Jones  had  written 
December  25,  1781,  from  Portsmouth,  tell 
ing  her  that  since  he  wrote  her  from  Phila 
delphia  he  had  been  put  in  command  of  the 
America,  and  asking  her  to  write  him  "un- 

18 


der  cover  to  the  Honorable  Robert  Morris, 
Esq.,  Minister  of  Finance."  He  professed 
unabated  affection,  and  complained  of  the 
infrequency  of  her  letters.  In  September, 
1782,  he  writes  Brown,  "There  is  one  deli 
cate  subject  of  a  private  nature  on  which 
you  remain  silent,  though,  as  I  wrote  you 
to  Boston,  I  expected  to  hear  much  from  you 
on  that  head.  Your  silence,  I  fear,  carries  • 
with  it  a  disagreeable  meaning."  To  this 
hint  Brown,  writing  from  Philadelphia,  Oc 
tober  1,  1782,  advises  Jones  to  think  no 
more  of  the  delicate  subject  mentioned  in 
his  last;  and,  in  reply  to  Jones's  "respects 
to  my  fair  friends,"  adds,  "  I  send  my  re 
spects  to  all  friends  in  Portsmouth,  particu 
larly  the  aimable  Mrs.  Langdon."  This  was 
perhaps  Mrs.  Woodbury  Langdon,  rather 
than  the  wife  of  John  Langdon,  with  whom 
Jones's  relations  while  in  Portsmouth  were 
civil,  but  not  warm.  Jones  left  Portsmouth 
early  in  the  following  November,  and  a  year 
later  (November  10,  1783)  was  on  board 
ship  sailing  from  Philadelphia  to  France,  and 
thence  wrote  the  last  letter  in  this  interest 
ing  collection.  He  was  in  Europe  nearly 

19 


four  years,  returned  to  America  for  a  few 
months  in  1787,  but  died  in  Paris  in  July, 
1792,  a  little  past  the  age  of  forty- five. 

While  in  America  in  1787,  Jones  wrote  to 
Thomas  Jefferson,  then  our  ambassador  at 
Paris  (September  4,  1787),  forwarding 
through  him  a  letter  to  Aimee  de  Telison, 
and  requesting  Jefferson  to  interest  himself 
in  her  favor.  He  had  met  her  often  during 
his  residence  in  France  from  December, 
1783,  onward,  and  his  purse  was  at  her  dis 
posal.  One  of  his  last  acts  before  making 
his  will  (July  18,  1792)  was  to  give  her  a 
house  in  Paris  and  settle  upon  her  an  an 
nuity.  It  has  been  said  that  they  were  pri 
vately  married;  of  that  there  is  no  evidence. 
She  long  survived  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  Paris  the  very  day  his  will  was  signed. 
Little  is  known  of  her  after  life. 

F.  B.  SANBORN 

CONCORD,  MASSACHUSETTS,  July,  1905. 


20 


Sloop  Providence, 

20th  June,  1776. 

Sir:  I  have  made  so  many  unsuccessful 
attempts  to  convoy  the  Fly  past  Fisher's 
Island  that  I  have  determined  to  give  it  up 
and  pursue  my  orders  for  Boston.  When 
I  arrive  there  I  will  transmit  you  my  letter 
of  attorney.  In  the  meantime  you  will  sin 
gularly  oblige  me  by  applying  to  the  Admiral 
for  an  order  to  receive  for  me  a  copy  of  the 
Alfred's  log-book,  which  I  had  made  out 
for  my  private  use  before  I  left  that  ship, 
and  which  was  unjustly  withheld  from  me 
when  I  took  command  of  the  sloop,  by  the 
ill-natured  and  narrow-minded  Captain  Sal- 
tonstall.  When  the  old  gentleman  was 
down  here  he  promised  to  order  that  my 
copy  should  be  delivered;  but  when  my 
lieutenant  applied  for  it,  the  master  of  the 
Alfred  told  the  Admiral  a  cursed  lye,  and 
said  there  was  no  copy  made  out.  On  en 
quiry  you  will  find  that  Mr.  Vaughan,  the 
21 


mate  of  the  Alfred,  made  out  the  copy  in 
question  for  me  before  I  went  to  New  York. 
I  should  not  be  so  particular  did  I  not  stand 
in  absolute  need  of  it  before  I  can  make  out 
a  fair  copy  of  my  Journal  to  lay  before  the 
Congress;  for  I  was  so  stinted  in  point  of 
time  in  the  Alfred  that  I  did  not  copy  a  sin 
gle  remark;  besides  't  is  a  little  hard  that  I 
who  planned  and  superintended  the  log 
book  should  not  be  thought  worthy  of  a 
copy  when  a  midshipman  if  he  pleases  may 
claim  one.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  you  will 
receive  the  book.  I  must  therefore  beg  you 
to  send  it  if  possible  to  me  at  Mr.  Jno. 
Head's  or  Captain  J.  Bradford's,  Boston; 
regard  not  the  expense.  I  will  cheerfully 
pay  it.  I  am,  with  esteem, 
Sir,  your  obliged  and  very  humble  servant. 

Sloop  Providence, 

20th  June,  1776. 

Sir:  I  forgot  to  mention  to  you  that  your  ac 
count  against  the  Providence  will  be  neces 
sary  to  me  at  Boston,  as  I  mean  to  transmit 
the  state  and  condition  of  the  sloop  from 
thence  to  the  Congress.  I  will  also  be  glad 

22 


of  Admiral  Hopkins's  account  against  me 
or  the  sloop ;  and  you  will  please  to  include 
in  your  account  the  articles  furnished  to 
the  vessel  by  the  Commissary  at  Newport. 
There  is  a  bolt  of  canvas  belonging  to  the 
sloop  in  the  upper  part  of  the  store.  I  wish 
it  could  be  sent  to  Boston  together  with  a 
quantity  of  knives, — four  to  five  dozen;  a 
pair  of  small  pistols;  some  twine,  needles, 
palms,  fishhooks,  lines,  &c.,  which  Mr. 
Brownell  took  away  from  the  sloop  and  hath 
in  his  possession.  It  seems  he  lodges  at  a 
Thos.  Nenner's  on  the  hill  opposite  the  bury- 
ing-ground  on  the  west  side.  You  will  here 
with  receive  a  pair  of  pistols,  a  musket,  and 
a  cutlas  belonging  to  the  Alfred,  which 
please  to  deliver. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  obliged  very  humble  ser 
vant, 

(Signed)  J.RJ. 

COLONEL  D.  TILLINGHAST. 

M.  le  Commodore  Paul  Jones  annoncera 

a  M.  le  Vice-amiral  R—  — ,  que  quoiqu'en 

qualite  d'Americain  il  n'ait  fait  usage  que 

de  la  commission  des  Etats  Unis,  il  n'en 

23 


etoit  pas  moins  vrai  qu'il  en  avoit  une  fran- 
$aise  qui  a  etc  perdue  lors  du  desastre  du 
Bonhomme  Richard,  et  dont  1'acte  qui  lui 
a  ete  adresse  est  la  copie.  M.  le  Commo 
dore  Paul  Jones  fera  meme  cette  declara 
tion  par  ecrit,  et  la  signera,  si  par  hazard 
M.  le  Vice-amiral  venoit  a  1'exiger.1 

TRANSLATION  OF  THE  PRECEDING 

Commodore  Paul  Jones  will  announce  to 
Vice-admiral  R—  —  that,  although  as  an 
American  citizen,  he  has  used  only  his  com 
mission  from  the  United  States,  it  was  not 
the  less  true  that  he  had  a  French  one  which 
was  lost  when  the  disaster  happened  to  the 
Bonhomme  Richard,  of  which  commission 
the  document  addressed  to  him  [the  Vice- 
admiral]  is  a  copy.  Commodore  Paul  Jones 
will  make  this  declaration  in  writing,  and 
will  sign  it,  if  at  any  time  the  Vice-admiral 
should  so  require. 

N.B.  The  above  is  the  proposition  that 
was  given  me  in  writing  the  13th  of  Decem 
ber,  1779,  on  board  the  Alliance  at  the  Texel 

1  This  is  not  in  the  handwriting  of  John  Paul  Jones. 
24 


by  M.  le  Chevalier  de  Lioncourt  to  induce 
me  to  say  and  sign  a  falsehood.1 

J.  PAUL  JONES 

PORTSMOUTH,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,, 
January  3d,  1782. 

I  have,  my  dear  Brown,  duly  received 
your  letter  of  the  26th,  and  am  much  obliged 
by  the  letters  you  forwarded.  I  regret  ex 
ceedingly  my  not  having  seen  the  Marquis 
before  he  sailed;  and  it  is  a  great  addition 
to  my  disappointment,  my  having  lost  that 
good  opportunity  to  write  to  my  friends,  who 
are  full  of  zeal  for  my  glory  and  the  in 
terests  of  America.  Your  long  delay  at  Bos 
ton,  and  some  new  circumstances  that  have 
occurred  here,  have  obliged  me  to  write  by 
the  last  post  a  clear  account  of  matters  to 
the  Minister.  By  Mr.  Langdon,  purser  of 
the  Dean,  I  understand  you  mean  to  remain 
at  Boston  till  you  have  dispatched  that  ship  ? 
I  shall  console  myself  if  you  do;  because 
you  will  then  be  able  to  make  a  longer  stay 
here,  and  in  the  meantime  I  am  persuaded 
an  effectual  arrangement  will  be  made. 

1This  "  N.B."  is  written  in  the  autograph 

of  John  Paul  Jones. 

25 


I  am,  with  great  regard,  dear  Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  ser 
vant, 

(Signed)        J.  PAUL  JONES 

N.B.  I  gave  Captain  Thompson  a  packet 
(under  cover  to  Mr.  Morris)  for  my  par 
ticular  friend  at  Court.  I  desired  him  to 
take  off  the  cover  if  he  found  the  Marquis 
at  Boston.  It  is  of  great  consequence  to  my 
self  and  the  Continent.  I  pray  you  there 
fore  to  send  it  on  to  Mr.  Morris  unless  you 
find  an  opportunity  you  approve  from  Bos 
ton,  &c. 

JOHN  BROWN,  Esquire, 

Secretary  of  Admiralty,  Boston. 

Honored  by  Mr.  Langdon,  Purser  of  the 
Dean. 

PORTSMOUTH,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE, 
January  21st,  1782. 

Dear  Sir:  Colonel  Langdon,  who  I  under 
stand  goes  for  Boston  to-morrow,  in  order 
to  settle  his  old  accounts  with  the  Navy 
Board,  does  me  the  honor  to  carry  this  letter. 
I  apprehend  you  have  suffered  my  late  let 
ters  to  remain  in  the  post-office,  as  I  have 

26 


not  had  the  pleasure  to  hear  from  you  since 
the  26th  of  December.  If  you  have  received 
a  packet  of  letters  I  gave  Captain  Thomp 
son,  I  do  not  wish  it  to  be  sent  by  the  Alex 
ander,  there  being  copys  already  on  board 
that  ship.  If  you  have  not  received  it,  I  wish 
you  would  mention  this  with  my  compli 
ments  to  Captain  Thompson. 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  most  affectionately  your 
(Signed)         J.  PAUL  JONES 

N.B.  Remember  you  are  to  lodge  with 
me  when  you  come  here.  I  wish  to  know 
when  the  Alexander  is  expected  to  sail. 

JOHN  BROWN,  Esquire, 

Secretary  of  Admiralty,  Boston. 

Honored  by  Colonel  Langdon. 

PORTSMOUTH,  N.  HAMPSHIRE, 
March  25,  1782. 

I  hope,  my  dear  Brown,  you  got  safe  and 
speedily  to  Boston  after  our  separation.  I 
reached  Portsmouth  just  when  they  began 
to  light  candles  after  tea,  and  the  dancing 
did  not  end  till  after  two  in  the  morning.  I 
have  attended  the  America  every  day;  the 

27 


work,  so  far,  goes  on  as  well  as  can  be  ex 
pected  with  the  few  hands  that  are  em 
ployed.  Colonel  L.  returned  last  night;  I 
have  seen  him  then,  and  this  morning:  he 
appeared  civil,  but  did  not  talk  of  business.  I 
shall  endeavor  to  induce  him  to  increase  the 
number  of  workmen.  I  have  examined  the 
cable  I  mentioned  to  you  that  belonged  to 
the  Somerset.  It  is  somewhat  worn,  and 
measures  only  20  instead  of  22  inches;  how 
ever,  if  we  can  obtain  3  more  of  18  inches 
or  upwards  they  might  answer  for  the  first 
object.  I  have  thought  of  the  boats;  and, 
that  no  expense  may  be  incurred  that  can 
possibly  be  avoided,  I  am  willing,  in  the  first 
moment,  to  forego  the  parade  of  a  barge, 
and  will  content  myself,  even  in  sight  of  the 
flag  of  France,  to  be  rowed  in  an  eight-oared 
pinnace.  It  seems  probable  the  Cybel  had 
a  good  launch,  which  might  serve  as  a  long 
boat  for  the  America.  I  wish  you  could 
send  me  the  dimensions  if  the  boat  is  good. 
I  have  seen  Colonel  Hill  (the  other  master 
builder),  who  says  the  timber  is  all  ready 
at  the  head  of  the  river,  so  that  we  shall 
begin  to  lay  the  quarter-deck  and  forecastle 

28 


beams,  I  expect,  the  week  after  next.  There 
is  timber  enough  got,  he  says,  for  the  gun- 
carriages;  and,  as  we  shall  have  our  own 
iron,  the  workmanship  cannot  be  a  heavy 
expense.  I  wish  the  10  eighteen-pounders 
could  be  got  back  from  Virginia,  to  make 
a  compleat  battery  with  the  18  at  Boston.  I 
hope  you  will  secure  the  cannon  and  swivles 
of  the  Cybel.  The  cannon,  I  suppose,  are 
twelve-pounders,  and  will  suit  our  quarter 
deck  and  forecastle;  the  swivles  will  answer 
for  the  tops,  quarters,  &c.  If  the  eighteen- 
pounders  cannot  be  got  back  from  Virginia, 
the  Cybel s  twelve-pounders  may  be  substi 
tuted,  unless  heavier  cannon  can  be  had  to 
compleat  the  upper  battery.  Mr.  Ross 
writes  me  the  5th  that  Captain  Hodge  had 
only  just  sailed  for  the  Havannah.  You 
will  therefore  be  at  Philadelphia  before  he 
returns,  and  be  able  to  give  the  Minister  full 
information,  as  well  as  to  determine  on  my 
proposal  for  your  return.  You  know  how 
deeply  my  honor  is  concerned  in  the  accom 
plishment  of  the  important  business  with 
which  I  am  charged,  and  how  much  I  cast 
myself  on  your  care,  and  rely  on  your 

29 


friendly  representations  and  vigorous  exer 
tions.  I  know  you  will  not,  in  anything,  fall 
short  of  my  expectations. 

I  say  nothing  to  you  at  present  of  my  af 
fair  of  the  heart;  but  wait  impatiently  to 
hear  much  on  that  subject  from  you.  I  shall 
rely  on  your  advice;  and,  as  I  know  it  will 
come  from  the  heart  of  friendship,  I  shall 
make  no  scruple  beforehand  to  promise  you 
to  treat  it  with  great  respect  and  attention. 
I  am,  believe  me,  my  dear  Brown, 

Your  affectionate 
(Signed)         J.  PAUL  JONES 

N.B.  Your  servant  did  honor  to  your 
trust,  and  paid  as  you  directed. 

JOHN  BROWN,  Esquire, 

Secretary  of  Admiralty,  Boston. 

PORTSMOUTH,  N.  HAMPSHIRE, 
April  2d,  1782. 

I  wrote  you,  my  dear  Brown,  by  Sher- 
burne,  the  Smith,  the  29th  ult.  I  then  for 
got  to  mention  to  send  here  immediately  all 
the  paint  and  oil  on  hand  at  Boston ;  the  new 
work  is  planed  off,  and  being  of  green  wood, 

30 


is  suffering  much  for  want  of  it.  Major 
Hacket  is  gone  up  the  river  with  half  his 
men  to  hasten  down  the  timber  for  the  quar 
ter-deck  and  forecastle,  and  I  expect  to  be 
gin  to  lay  the  beams  the  first  of  next  week. 
I  wish  you  would  immediately  send  me,  if 
you  have  them,  from  12  to  20  or  more  good 
swivles  —  and,  at  any  rate,  send  some  pow 
der,  grape-shot,  and  musket  balls.  I  want 
to  mount  swivles  in  the  gunports,  &c.,  and 
I  wish  you  would  mention  some  marines  for 
a  guard.  Pray  how  many,  and  what  sort 
of  pumps  has  the  Cybell? 

I  am,  my  dear  Brown,  your  affectionate 

(Signed)        J.  PAUL  JONES 

PORTSMOUTH,  N.  HAMPSHIRE, 
April  4th,  1782. 

You  will  oblige  me,  my  dear  Brown,  if 
you  can  send  me  by  the  return  of  Mr.  Sea 
man,  the  bearer,  a  piece  of  good  linen  for 
shirts,  and  a  piece  of  cambric  for  stock.  I 
have  muslin  for  ruffles,  but  thread  and  but 
tons  are  wanting.  I  have  received  a  credit 
from  my  friend  Ross  on  Mr.  Russell,  who 
will  reimburse  you  the  cost.  I  should  not 

31 


have  given  you  this  trouble,  but  that  I  find 
no  linen  here  except  such  as  is  both  bad  and 
very  dear,  and  I  know  you  will  excuse  with 
out  an  apology  your  affectionate 

(Signed)         J.  PAUL  JONES 

JOHN  BROWN,  Esquire, 

Secretary  of  Admiralty,  Boston. 

Honored  by  Richard  Seaman,  Esquire. 

PORTSMOUTH,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE, 
April  15th,  1782. 

I  wrote  you,  my  dear  Brown,  by  the  last 
post,  mentioning  Colonel  Langdon's  inten 
tion  to  discharge  all  the  carpenters  last  Sat 
urday;  and  I  expected  to  have  had  an  an 
swer  from  you,  as  I  stood  in  need  of  your 
advice.  I  am  disappointed.  I  had  deter 
mined  to  try  all  my  art  of  persuasion  on  Col 
onel  Langdon,  and  to  call  in  the  auxiliary 
aid  of  General  Whipple  and  others  to  induce 
him  to  continue.  If  he  had  obstinately  per 
sisted  in  discharging  the  carpenters,  I  was 
resolved  to  have  continued  them  at  my  own 
expense  till  I  had  heard  from  the  Minister; 
being  persuaded  that  to  stop  now  would  be 

32 


to  lose  the  America.  Perhaps  all  my  argu 
ments  would  have  failed,  had  he  not  by  the 
Friday's  post  received  a  remittance  of  ten 
thousand  dollars.  Even  that  remittance  has 
not  operated  to  augment  the  number  of  car 
penters,  nor  even  to  set  a  single  caulker  to 
work.  All  it  has  effected  is  to  continue  the 
few  men  employed  when  you  were  here; 
and  part  of  that  number  are  and  have  been 
for  some  time  past  taken  off  to  fit  out  his 
private  vessels.  They  are  to  receive  no  pay 
till  a  month  is  expired.  I  am  greatly  obliged 
by  the  linen  and  cambric  you  so  kindly  sent 
me  by  Mr.  Seaman.  Pray  did  Mr.  Russell 
pay  for  the  cambric?  I  have  recommended 
to  the  Minister  to  procure  not  only  the  hull, 
stores,  and  materials  of  the  Fantasque;  but 
also  what  belongs  to  the  Cybell.  It  seems 
to  me  they  may  be  turned  to  a  very  good  ac 
count.  He  will  communicate  to  you  the  plan 
I  have  suggested.  I  am,  my  dear  Brown, 
your  affectionate 
(Signed)  J.  PAUL  JONES 

N.B.     Major  Hacket  and  the  rest  beg 
that  what  I  proposed  to  them  in  your  hear- 

33 


ing  may  not  be  mentioned  to  any  person 
here. 

JOHN  BROWN,  Esquire, 
Secretary  of  Admiralty. 


PORTSMOUTH,,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE, 
April  15th,  1782. 

I  wrote  you  a  line,  my  dear  Brown,  this 
morning  by  Mr.  Sheaf.  The  present,  I  ex 
pect,  will  yet  find  you  in  Boston.  I  send 
it  by  the  postman,  and  the  intention  of  it  is 
only  to  transmit  you  the  enclosed  seven  hun 
dred  and  twenty  dollars,  in  bills  on  France 
for  interest  from  the  Boston  Loan  Office. 
I  pray  you  on  your  arrival  in  Philadelphia 
to  put  these  bills  into  the  hands  of  my  friend 
and  attorney  John  Ross,  Esquire.  If  you 
paid  for  the  cambric  you  so  obligingly  sent 
me,  he  will  reimburse  you  the  cost.  I  have 
mentioned  to  Mr.  Ross  what  you  so  kindly 
promised  respecting  the  embarkation  of  my 
stores  and  baggage,  and  must  rely  on  you 
and  him  for  that  arrangement.  Your  en 
deavours  to  obtain  payment  of  my  steward's 
wages  due  from  the  16th  March,  1780,  will 

34 


oblige  me.    He  has  been  so  long  with  me 
that  I  find  I  cannot  well  do  without  him. 
I  shall  hope  to  hear  from  you  before  you 
depart;  meantime  and  always  I  am, 
affectionately  yours, 

(Signed)         J.  PAUL  JONES 

JOHN  BROWN,  Esquire, 

Secretary  of  Admiralty,  Boston. 


PORTSMOUTH,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE, 
April  25th,  1782. 

I  wrote  you,  my  dear  Brown,  the  21st  by 
the  postman.  Since  that  time  I  have  by  a 
fine  political  manoeuvre  discovered,  as  I 
think,  the  clew  to  the  letter  I  received  from 
Philadelphia  of  the  26th  ult.  mentioning  a 
"  Respectable  Gentleman."  I  now  see  also 
the  reason  why  " Resigning "  and  "getting 
clear  of  the  business  "  is  so  much  talked  of. 
The  scheme  has  been  deeply  laid,  and  if 
the  successor  that  has  been  recommended 
should  be  accepted,  I  think  the  coffers  would 
be  drained,  and  a  double  fence  to  knavery 
would  be  erected.  Mr.  Langdon  has  not  re 
solved  to  set  out  for  Boston  before  the  be- 

35 


ginning  of  next  week;  so  I  send  this  by  Mr. 
Greenleaf  of  the  stage-coach,  who,  after  re 
maining  a  day  or  so  in  Boston,  will  bring 
me  your  answer.  I  have  much  serious  mat 
ter  to  say  to  you,  and  think  it  absolutely 
necessary  I  should  see  you  as  soon  as  pos 
sible.  Therefore  I  would  propose  to  meet 
you  at  Ipswich  on  as  early  a  day  as  you  can 
appoint;  you  can  return  the  day  following 
to  Boston,  and  none  be  the  wiser  but  our 
selves.  Mr.  Langdon  never  behaved  with 
greater  civility  to  me  than  at  present;  and 
as  I  hate  to  be  outdone  I  am  very  polite 
towards  him.  I  am  always,  my  dear  Brown, 
your  affectionate 

(Signed)        J.  PAUL  JONES 

JOHN  BROWN,  Esquire, 

Secretary  of  Admiralty,  Boston. 


PORTSMOUTH,  N.  HAMPSHIRE, 
August  3d,  1782. 

The  bearer,  my  dear  Brown,  being  sent 
by  Colonel  Langdon  express  to  Philadel 
phia,  to  return  immediately,  gives  me  an 
opportunity  to  refer  you  to  him  for  some 

36 


particulars  of  our  present  situation,  which 
his  hasty  departure  puts  out  of  my  power 
to  write.  You  will,  I  suppose,  see  my  official 
account  of  this  date  to  the  Minister.  I  have 
not  received  a  word  from  you  since  you  left 
Boston.  I  shall  not  now  urge  you  to  write, 
even  by  this  opportunity:  on  the  contrary, 
I  shall  freely  give  you  back  all  your  promises 
and  professions,  if  you  repent  having  made 
them;  because  I  would  have  them  continue 
with  steadfast  sincerity  if  they  are  contin 
ued  at  all.  I  presume  you  received  the  con 
fidential  letter  I  wrote  you  to  Philadelphia 
in  answer  to  your  last  from  Boston.  In  the 
meantime  I  am,  my  dear  Brown,  your  un 
altered  friend, 

(Signed)        J.  PAUL  JONES 
Past  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  4th. 
JOHN  BROWN,  Esquire,  &c. 


PORTSMOUTH,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE, 
Sept.  7th,  1782. 

At  last,  my  dear  Brown,  I  am  so  happy 
as  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  14th  ult.    No 
doubt  you  had  strong  reasons  for  your  past 
37 


silence;  but  circumstanced  as  I  have  been, 
in  such  tormenting  suspense,  I  have  paid 
dearly  for  your  delicacy.  I  thought  you  un 
kind,  and  am  now  much  pleased  to  relin 
quish  that  apprehension:  you  will  no  more 
allow  me  foundation  for  it.  The  loss  of  the 
Magnifique  at  Boston,  which  was  immedi 
ately  communicated  to  Mr.  Morris,  will,  I 
have  no  doubt,  remove  the  chief  difficulty 
mentioned  in  your  letter.  The  armament  of 
that  ship,  I  am  certain,  can  be  spared,  and 
perhaps  also  the  rigging  and  sails;  you  will 
therefore  follow  up  that  object  if  you  regard 
my  happiness.  I  am  much  obliged  by  what 
you  say  respecting  my  steward's  pay. 

I  wish  most  ardently  for  an  honorable 
peace;  which  cannot,  in  my  judgment,  be 
made  otherwise  than  in  conjunction  with 
our  generous  ally.  I  would  disdain  to  take 
repose  and  leave  our  friends  to  fight  out  our 
battles!  If  this  is  the  wily  scheme  of  the 
English  Fox,  I  hope  every  virtuous  Amer 
ican  will  treat  it  with  the  most  supreme  con 
tempt,  and  never  consent  to  sheathe  the 
sword  till,  in  mercy  to  mankind,  that  inso 
lent  and  faithless  nation  is  humbled  in  the 
dust.  There  is  one  delicate  subject  of  a  pri- 

38 


^ly^^ 

/ 


y 


t^j&gfiti^ 


vote  nature  on  which  you  remain  silent, 
though,  as  I  wrote  you  to  Boston,  I  expected 
"to  hear  much  from  you  on  that  head." 
Your  silence,  I  fear,  carries  with  it  a  dis 
agreeable  meaning.  Present,  if  you  please, 
my  respects  to  my  fair  friends,  as  I  have 
done  yours  here.  Let  me  hear  from  you. 
You  cannot  suppose  I  am  "happy"  in  my 
situation;  but  I  am,  with  unabating  affec 
tion,  Your  friend, 

J.  PAUL  JONES 
JOHN  BROWN,  Esquire,  &c. 

PHILADELPHIA,  June  4th,  1783. 
Gentlemen:  The  bearer,  John  Barry,  Es 
quire,  Captain  in  the  Continental  Navy, 
commanding  the  frigate  Alliance,  being  des 
tined  for  the  Texel,  I  beg  leave  to  introduce 
him  as  a  friend  of  mine  to  the  honor  of  your 
acquaintance.  As  Captain  Barry  is  an  en 
tire  stranger  in  Holland,  any  civilities  you 
may  show  him  will  the  more  oblige, 

Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  and  most 
humble  servant, 

(Signed)       J.  PAUL  JONES 

MESSIEURS  DENEUFVILLE  &  FILS, 
a  Amsterdam. 

39 


On  Board  the  Washington  Packet, 

DELAWARE  BAY,  November  10th,  1783. 
Dear  General:  After  I  had  the  honor  to  see 
you  last  at  Philadelphia,  I  had  occasion  to 
go  to  Princeton.  General  Washington  did 
me  the  honor  to  read  the  papers  I  showed 
to  you,  and  his  Excellency  told  me  in  re 
turning  them  "  he  must  confess  he  could  not 
see  upon  what  principle  of  justice  Congress 
had  acted  respecting  my  rank/'  I  have, 
however,  said  nothing  to  that  great  body  on 
the  subject.  The  object  for  which  I  am  now 
here  on  my  way  to  France  is  to  solicit  justice 
to  the  officers  and  men  I  had  the  honor  to 
command  in  Europe.  When  I  have  obtained 
proper  satisfaction  for  them  I  intend  to  re 
turn  to  America.  The  Chevalier  de  la  Lu- 
zerne  and  Baron  Steuben  have  proposed  to 
obtain  a  vote  of  the  Society  of  Cincinnatus 
for  my  admission  at  the  first  general  meet 
ing.  If  I  am  elected  a  permanent  member 
of  the  Society,  my  friend  and  attorney  John 
Ross,  Esquire,  will  pay  seventy-five  dollars, 
the  monthly  pay  of  a  colonel,  which  rank  I 
have  by  virtue  of  my  election  to  command 
the  America.  I  shall  place  great  dependence 

40 


t<^    GT  tf^t^^^f^    %/Z^s&£<^Cr<J 


/y%/^JU~^   6Cc*£*ib    £L,  fac*^r**4+^4L**J&<sW.t*^^ 

x^o  4  ,0  ^fc^,  J&fjL^tL  fr'-jz^Tz. . .  •-? 


Q^^J^M^^^  JZM^Z  ^SA 

S  />•-    x 

'*7?r+<*    €£**&+*-,  C* 


^^i^^  &'.,< 


for  my  admission  on  your  interposition,  and 
I  beg  you  to  believe  the  assurance  of  the 
great  respect  and  esteem  with  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  be,  dear  General, 

Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  ser 
vant, 

(Signed)       J.  PAUL  JONES 

The  Honorable  Major-general 
A.  ST.  CLAIR. 


41 


The  following  is  the  muster-roll  of  the 
sloop  Providence,  which  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  printed  before.  Long  ago  it  was 
presented  to  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society  by  John  Lowell,  Esq.  (H.  U.  1786), 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  society,  and  it 
has  ever  since  remained  in  the  archives  of 
that  institution.  Its  value  consists  mainly 
in  showing  authentically  who  served  on 
board  the  first  naval  vessel  of  the  United 
States  which  Jones  commanded;  when  each 
officer  and  man  entered  the  service,  and  what 
was  his  original  rank.  Some  of  them  were 
afterwards  with  Jones  in  his  Portsmouth- 
built  ship,  the  Ranger, — which,  while  in  the 
French  harbor  of  Quiberon  in  1778,  received 
the  first  National  salute  given  the  American 
Flag  in  Europe, —  and  a  few  may  have  been 
with  him  on  board  the  Bonhomme  Richard 
when  she  captured  the  Serapis. 

42 


In  his  report  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
of  which  mention  is  made  in  one  of  the  let 
ters  here  printed,  Jones  may  have  included 
this  muster-roll ;  but  we  can  find  no  evidence 
that  it  was  ever  printed. 


43 


MUSTER-ROLL  OF  THE 


Time  of  Entry 
No.          Month           Year 

Names  in  original 

Station 

1     May  10 

1776 

John  Paul  Jones  .     .     . 

Captain 

2    April  16 

1776 

William  Grinnell     .    . 

1st  Lieut. 

3     Feb.  10 

1776 

John  P.  Rathbun      .    . 

1st  Lieut. 

4     June  3 

1776 

William  Hopkins     .     . 

Master 

5     March  14 

1776 

Samuel  Brownell    .     . 

Actg.  master 

6     May  12 

1776 

Henry  Tillinghast    .     . 

Surgeon 

7     June  9 

1776 

John  Margeson   .     .     . 

1st  Master's  mate 

8    Jan.  20 

1776 

Joseph  Brown     .     .     . 

2d  Master's  mate 

9     Jan.  1 

1776 

John  McNeil  .... 

3d  Master's  mate 

10    Jan.  22 

1776 

Joseph  Hardy     .     .     . 

Midshipman 

11     May  15 

1776 

Charles  Short     .     .     . 

Clerk    .     .     .     . 

12    June  18 

1776 

James  Rogers     .     .     . 

Steward 

13     Feb.  17 

1776 

William  Darby    .     .     . 

Boatswain 

14     June  10 

1776 

Andrew  Brewer  .     .     . 

Carpenter       .     . 

15     Feb.  1 

1776 

James  Bryant     .     .     . 

Gunner 

16    Jan.  4 

1776 

John  Pynter   .... 

Armourer 

17     Jan.  1 

1776 

Isaac  Kimball     .     .     . 

Disqual.  cooper 

18    Jan.  8 

1776 

John  Bettingham     .     . 

Cook     .     .     .     . 

19     May  21 

1776 

James  Pressy      .  •  .     . 

Boatswain's  mate 

20     April  17 

1776 

Lillibridge  Worth    .    . 

Gunner's  mate 

21     Jan.  4 

1776 

Farquaher   McPherson 

Yeoman     .     .     . 

22    Jan.  31 

1776 

Robert  Brown     .     .    . 

Seaman 

23     May  21 

1776 

Andrew  Waylin  .     .     . 

Seaman     .     .     . 

24     May  22 

1776 

Thomas  Cox  .... 

Seaman     .     .     . 

25     May  21 

1776 

Samuel  Hallam  .     .     . 

Seaman 

26     May  20 

1776 

Samuel  Chapman    .     . 

Seaman 

27     May  28 

1776 

John  Dennis  .... 

Seaman     .     .     . 

28    Jan.  14 

1776 

Edward  Donelly  .     .     . 

Seaman 

29     Jan.  4 

1776 

John  Sutherland      .    . 

Seaman 

30    May  24 

1776 

William  Bryant  .     .     . 

Seaman 

31     June  10 

1776 

Thomas  Perfect  .     .     . 

Seaman 

[32]  1  April  17 

1776 

William  Abbot    .     .    . 

Seaman     .     .     . 

[33]  July  11 

1776 

James  Robinson  .     .     . 

Seaman 

[34]  July  1  1 

1776 

Charles  Traffarn     .    . 

Seaman 

[35]  Jan.  2 

1776 

George  Robinson    .     . 

Carpenter's  mate 

Run,  Dead,  Discharged 


Dis.  June  19 
Run  Oct.  20,  1776 


Run  Aug.  10,  1776 
Taken  from  hospital 
June  9 


Run  Aug.  10,  1776 

Run  Oct.,  1776 
Sent  sick  quarters 
June  3 


Taken  from  sick 
quarters  May  28 


Run  June  24 


Dis.  June  18,  1776 


1  Numbering  is  here  discontinued  in  original. 

44 


"PROVIDENCE"  SLOOP  OF  WAR 

Time  promoted 

Turned  over  from  Turned  over  to  Month  Year 

[1]  .     Ship  Alfred Ship  A Ifred Oct.  20  1776 

[2]  .     Ship  Columbus Prize  Brig.  Britannia  .     .     .     .  Aug.  27  1776 

[3] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[  4  ]  .     Sick  quarters Prize  Brig.  Sea  Nymph  .     .     .  Sept.  5  1 776 

[5] Sick  quarters June  4  1776 

[6]  .     Ship  Alfred,  May  12    .     .     .  Sick  quarters Oct.  20  1776 

[7]  .    Andrew  Doria,  May  22      .     .  Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[8] Prize  Brig.  Sea  Nymph  .     .     .  Sept.  5  1776 

[9] Prize  Brig.  Britannia  .     .     .     .  Aug.  27  1776 

[10] Prize  Brig.  Favourite  .     .     .     .  Sept.  8  1776 

[11] June  19  1776 

[12] Prize  Brig.  Defiance  .     .     .     .  Sept.  23  1776 

[13]  .    Andrew  Doria Chester  Jail Aug.  5  1776 

[14] Sick  quarters June  20  1776 

[15] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[16] 

[17] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[18] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[19] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[20]  .     Ship  Columbus Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[21] 
[22] 
[23] 
[24] 

[25]  .     Ship  Columbus,  June  9     .     .  Ship  Columbus June  9  1776 

[26]  .     Ship  Columbus Ship  Columbus June  9  1776 

[27] Andrew  Doria June  3  1776 

[28] Prize  Brig.  Favourite  .     .     .     .  Sept.  8  1776 

[29] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[30] 

[31]  .     Ship  Columbus,  June  10  .     .  Columbus' s  Prize  .     ....  Sept.  10  1776 

[32] 

[33] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[34] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[35] Ship  Alfred June  8  1776 

45 


Time  of  Entry 

No.  Month  Year 

[36]  April  16  1776 

[37]  April  16  1776 

[38]  May  12  1776 

[39]  Jan.  11  1776 

[40]  July  11  1776 

[41]  Jan. 7  1776 

[42]  June  12  1776 

[43]  Dec.  29  1775 

[44]  Jan.  4  1776 

[45]  June  4  1776 

[46]  Jan.  23  1776 

[47]  Jan.  4  1776 

[48]  Jan. 14  1776 

[49]  Feb.  8  1776 

[50]  Jan. 3  1776 

[51]  Jan. 5  1776 

[52]  Jan.  5  1776 

[53]  Jan. 5  1776 

[54]  Jan.  5  1776 

[55]  Jan.  5  1776 

[56]  Jan.  5  1776 

[57]  Jan.  5  1776 

[58]  Jan.  5  1776 

[59]  Jan.  23  1776 

[60]  Dec.  20  1775 

[61]  April  16  1776 

[62]  June  14  1776 

[63]  June  14  1776 

[64]  June  14  1776 

[65]  June  14  1776 

[66]  June  14  1776 

[67]  June  14  1776 

[68]  June  14  1776 

[69]  June  14  1776 

[70]  June  14  1776 

[71]  June  14  1776 

[72]  June  14  1776 

[73]  June  14  1776 

[74]  June  14  1776 

[75]  June  14  1776 


Names  in  original 

James  Grinnell  .     .  . 

Cambridge  Grinnell  . 

Edward  Ormond     .  . 

Samuel  Askins   .     .  . 

James  Turner     .    .  . 

Andrew  Jemerson    .  . 

Alpheus  Rice .     .     .  . 

Patrick  Russell  .     .  . 

Cornelius  Dax    .     .  . 

Archibald  Neilson   .  . 

Samuel  Allen      .     .  . 

Cornelius  Conelly   .  . 

Mathew  McCaffry  .  . 

John  Robinson    .     .  . 

Daniel  Pillegar  .     .  . 

Bryan  Ryan    .     .     .  . 

Archibald  Edmunson  . 

Patrick  McMullen  .  . 

Samuel  Wright  .    .  . 

James  Sinnex     .     .  . 

David  Franks      .     .  . 

William  Griffies  .     .  . 

John  Mclndoe     .     .  . 

William  Rickets  .     .  . 
Frederick  Wm.  Ruff  man 

Daniel  Humphreys  .  . 

James  Howell     .     .  . 

William  Brand    .     .  . 

Edmund  Arrowsmith  . 

Elias  Thomas      .    .  . 

William  Babcock     .  . 

Joseph  Nocake   .     .  . 

Adin  Trask    .     .    .  . 
Augustus  Saunders 

Richard  Griffies  .    .  . 
Elias  Millar    .... 

Thomas  Potter    .     .  . 

Jonathan  Jenks  .     .  . 

Nathan  Munroe  .     .  . 

Joseph  Jaqueys  .     .  . 
46 


Station 

Boy 

Boy       .     . 

Boy       .     . 

Boy       .     . 

Boy 

Boy       .     . 

Lt.  Marines 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Marine 

Prisoner    . 

Prisoner 

Prisoner    . 

Ensign 

Sergeant 

Soldier 

Soldier 

Soldier      . 

Soldier 

Soldier 

Soldier 

Soldier 

Soldier 

Soldier      . 

Soldier 


Run,  Dead,  Discharged 

Sick  quarters 
Dis.  Aug.  15 
Run  Oct.  8,  1776 

Run  May  24,  1776 
Run  Aug.  16,  1776 
Run  Aug.  10,  1776 
Dis.  May  24 
Taken  from  hospital 
June  4 

Run  June  3,  1776 
Sent  sick  quarters 


Run  Aug.  27,  1776 


Run  Sept.  24,  1777 
Sick  at  Prov.  April  9 
Entered  Oct.  4,  1776 

Run  June  28 
Dis.  Oct.  10 


Dis.  Feb.  1 
Dis.  Nov.  1 


[36] 
[37] 
[38] 

Turned  over  from 

.     Ship  Columbus  .     . 

Turned  over  to 

.     .     .     Prize  Brig.  Britannia  . 

Time  promoted 
Month              Year 

.     .     .     Aug.  27     1776 
.     .     .     Oct.  10     1776 
.     .     .    Aug.  15     1776 

[39] 

.     .     .     Oct.  8 

1776 

[40] 

.    .    .    Ship  Alfred  .     .     .    . 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[41] 

.     .     .     May  24 

1776 

[42] 

.    Andrew  Doria     .     . 

.     .     .     June  10 

1776 

[43] 

.     .     .     Aug.  10 

1776 

[44] 

.     .     .     May  24 

1776 

[45] 

.     .     .    Ship  Alfred  .... 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[46] 

.     .     .     Ship  Columbus  .     .     . 

.     .     .    June  9 

1776 

[47] 

.     .     .     June3 

1776 

[48] 

.     .     .     June  6 

1776 

[49] 

.     .     .     Ship  Columbus  .     .     . 

.     .     .     June  10 

1776 

[50] 

.     .     .     Ship  Columbus  .     .     . 

.     .     .    June  9 

1776 

[51] 

.     Brig.  Cabot    .     .     . 

.     .     .     Jan.  5 

1776 

[52] 

.     Brig.  Cabot    .     .     . 

.     .     .     Ship  Alfred  .... 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[53] 

.     Brig.  Cabot    .     .     . 

.     .     .     Ship  Alfred  .... 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[54] 

.     Brig.  Cabot    .     .     . 

.     .     .     Sick  quarters     .     .     . 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[55] 

.     Brig.  Cabot    .     .     . 

.     .     .     Ship  Alfred  .... 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[56] 

.     Brig.  Cabot    .     .     . 

.     .     .     Ship  Alfred  .... 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[57] 

.     Brig.  Cabot    .     .     . 

.     .     .     Ship  Alfred  .... 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[58] 

.     Brig.  Cabot    .     .     . 

.     .     .     Ship  Columbus  .     .     . 

.    June  4 

1776 

[59] 

.     .     .     Sept.  24 

1776 

[60] 

.     Hospital     .... 

.     .     .     Prize  Brig.  Favourite  . 

.     .     .     Sept.  8 

1776 

[61] 

.     .     .     April  9 

1776 

[62] 

.     Sloop  Fly  .     .     .    . 

.     .     .     Prize  Brig.  Favourite  . 

.     .     .     Sept.  8 

1776 

[63] 

.     Sloop  Fly  .     .     .     . 

.     .     .     Ship  Alfred  .... 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[64] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    . 

.     .     .     Ship  Alfred  .... 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[65] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    . 

.     .     .     Prize  Brig.  Britannia  . 

.     .     .     Aug.  27 

1776 

[66] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade 

[67] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    . 

.     .     .     Columbus's  Prize  .     . 

.     .     .     Sept.  10 

1776 

[68] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade 

[69] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade 

[70] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    . 

.     .     .     Prize  Brig.  Britannia  . 

.     .     .    Aug.  27 

1776 

[71] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    . 

.    .     .     Prize  Brig.  Favourite  . 

.     .     .    Sept.  8 

1776 

[72] 

.    Rhode  Is.  Brigade    . 

.    .    .    Ship  Alfred  .... 

.     .     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[73] 

.    Rhode  Is.  Brigade    . 

.     .     .     Prize  Brig.  Britannia  . 

.     .     .    Aug.  27 

1776 

[74] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    . 

.    .    .    Prize  Brig.  Defiance  . 

.     .     .     Sept.  23 

1776 

[75] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    . 

.    .    .    Columbus's  Prize  .     . 

.     .     .     Sept.  10 

1776 

47 

Time  of  Entry 
No.            Month            Year 

Names  in  original 

Station 

Run,  Dead,  Discharged 

[76]  June  14 

1776 

James  Searles     .     .    . 

Soldier      .     . 

Run  June  19,  1776 

[77]  June  14 

1776 

Constant  Whitford 

Soldier      .     .     . 

Run  June  29,  1776 

[78]  June  14 

1776 

Richard  Pearce  .     .     . 

Soldier 

[79]  June  14 

1776 

John  Robinson    .     .     . 

Soldier 

[80]  June  14 

1776 

Thomas  Harris   .     .     . 

Soldier      .     .     . 

Run  June  29,  1776 

[81]  June  14 

1776 

John  Hicks     .... 

Soldier 

[82]  June  14 

1776 

Isaac  Stearns 

Soldier       .     .     . 

Dis.  Feb.  10 

[83]  June  14 

1776 

James  Merrihew      .     . 

Soldier       .     .     . 

Run  July  6 

[84]  June  14 

1776 

Elnathan  Newman  . 

Soldier  fifer  .     . 

Dis.  Oct.  10 

[85]  June  14 

1776 

Samuel  Peckham    .     . 

Drummer 

[86]  Aug.  19 

1776 

John  Jones     .... 

Landsman 

[87]  Aug.  19 

1776 

Samuel  True  .... 

Landsman 

[88]  Aug.  19 

1776 

Michael  Dealy    .     .     . 

Landsman 

[89]   Aug.  19 

1776 

Joseph  Vesey      .     .     . 

Actg.  master 

[90]  Aug.  19 

1776 

John  Webster     .     .     . 

Boatswain 

[91]  Aug.  19 

1776 

John  Darbarrow      .     . 

Boat  yeoman 

[92]  Aug.  19 

1776 

Jesse  Grossman  .     .     . 

Gunner's  mate 

[93]  Aug.  19 

1776 

Samuel  Fry    .... 

Cooper 

[94]  Aug.  19 

1776 

John  Killen     .... 

Captain's  clerk 

[95]  Aug.  19 

1776 

John  Williams    . 

Landsman 

[96]  Aug.  19 

1776 

James  Crawford 

Landsman 

[97]  Aug.  19 

1776 

Ezekiel  Vangilder   .     . 

Landsman 

[98]   Aug.  19 

1776 

John  Monely  .... 

Landsman 

[99]  Aug.  19 

1776 

John  Powel    .... 

Landsman 

[100]  Aug.  19 

1776 

Abraham  Sing    .     .     . 

Landsman 

[101]  Aug.  19 

1776 

Henry  Young      .     .     . 

Landsman 

[102]   Aug.  19 

1776 

Mathias  Grimes  .     .     . 

Seaman 

[103]  Aug.  19 

1776 

Aaron  Quigley    .     .     . 

Seaman 

[104]  Aug.  19 

1776 

John  Stewart  .... 

Seaman 

[105]  Aug.  26 

1776 

Zebulon  Whippy     .     . 

Master's  mate 

[106]  Aug.  26 

1776 

Abel  Coffin     .... 

3d  Mate    .     .     . 

Run  Oct.  29,  1776 

[107]  Aug.  26 

1776 

Casey  Beruick    .     .     . 

Landsman 

[108]  Aug.  26 

1776 

Joshua  Moses     .     .     . 

Landsman 

[109]  Aug.  26 

1776 

Anthony  Forrest     .     . 

Seaman 

[110]  Aug.  26 

1776 

Richard  Bransdale  .     . 

Seaman 

[111]  Aug.26 

1776 

James  Foney      .     .     . 

Landsman 

[112]  Aug.26 

1776 

Anthony  Anabona 

Landsman 

[113]  Aug.26 

1776 

Samuel  Wogs     .     .     . 

Seaman 

[114]  Aug.26 

1776 

John  Coet  ..... 

Seaman 

[115]  Aug.26 

1776 

Peter  Patourel    .     .     . 

Seaman 

[116]  Sept.  4 

1776 

George  Lovie      .     .     . 

Actg.  Lieut. 

48 

Time  promoted 


Turned  over  from 

Turned  over  to 

Month 

Year 

[76] 

.    Rhode  Is.  Brigade 

[77] 

.    Rhode  Is.  Brigade 

[78] 

.    Rhode  Is.  Brigade    .    . 

.    .    Prize  Ship  Alexander  .    . 

.     .     Sept.  25 

1776 

[79] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    .     . 

.     .     Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[80] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade 

[81] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    .     . 

.     .     Prize  Brig.  Defiance  .    . 

.     .     Sept.  23 

1776 

[82] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    .     . 

.    .    Prize  Brig.  Sea  Nymph  . 

.     .     Sept.  5 

1776 

[83] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade 

[84] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade 

[85] 

.     Rhode  Is.  Brigade    .     . 

.     .     Prize  Brig.  Defiance  .     . 

.     .    Sept.  23 

1776 

[86] 

.    .    Prize  Brig.  Britannia  .     . 

.     .    Aug.  27 

1776 

[87] 

.     .     Prize  Brig.  Britannia  .     . 

.     .    Aug.  27 

1776 

[88] 

.    .    Prize  Brig.  Favourite  .     . 

.     .     Sept.  8 

1776 

[89] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .     Prize  Brig.  Favourite  .     . 

.     .     Sept.  8 

1776 

[90] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .     Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[91] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Sick  quarters     .... 

.     .     Oct.  10 

1776 

[92] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[93] 

.    Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[94] 

.    Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Brig.  Britannia  .... 

.     .     Aug.  27 

1776 

[95] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .     Prize  Brig.  Favourite  .     . 

.     .     Sept.  8 

1776 

[96] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .     Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[97] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[98] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[99] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .     Prize  Britannia.     .     .     . 

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[100] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[101] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Prize  Favourite      .    .     . 

.     .     Sept.  8 

1776 

[102] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Brig.  Sea  Nymph  .    .     . 

.     .     Sept.  5 

1776 

[103] 

.     Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Brig.  Sea  Nymph  .    .    . 

.     .     Sept.  5 

1776 

[104] 

.    Sloop  Hornet  .... 

.     .    Brig.  Favourite  .... 

.     .     Sept.  8 

1776 

[105] 

.     Brig.  Britannia  taken  . 

.     .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[106] 

.    Brig.  Britannia  .     .     . 

.     .    Prize  Brig.  Success    .     . 

.     .     Sept.  23 

1776 

[107] 

.     Brig.  Britannia  .     .     . 

.     .    Prize  Brig.  Defiance   .    . 

.     .     Sept.  23 

1776 

[108] 

Brig.  Britannia  .    .     . 

.    .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[109] 

.    Brig.  Britannia  .    .     . 

.     .    Brig.  Favourite  .... 

.     .     Sept.  8 

1776 

[110] 

.    Brig.  Britannia  .     .    . 

.     .     Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[111] 

.    Brig.  Britannia  .    .    . 

.    .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[112] 

.     Brig.  Britannia  .     .     . 

.     .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[113] 

.     Brig.  Britannia  .     .     . 

.     .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[114] 

.     Brig.  Britannia  .     .     . 

.    .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[115] 

.    Brig.  Britannia  .    .     . 

.     .     Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

[116] 

.    Brig.  Sea  Nymph  taken 

.    .    Ship  Alfred  

.     .     Oct.  20 

1776 

49 

Time  of  Entry 


No. 

Month 

Year 

Names  in  original 

[117] 

Sept. 

23 

1776 

James  Daley  .     . 

[118] 

Oct.  4 

1776 

Peter  Diamond 

[119] 

Oct.  4 

1776 

Stephen  Ryan 

[120] 

Sept. 

7 

1776 

Benj.  Allen    .     . 

[121] 

Sept. 

7 

1776 

Barney  Gallagher 

[122] 

Sept. 

4 

1776 

James  Bascum    . 

[123] 

Sept. 

4 

1776 

Anthony  Lewis   . 

[124] 

Sept. 

4 

1776 

Peter  Conya  .     . 

[125] 

Sept. 

4 

1776 

William  Tyrer     . 

[126] 

Sept. 

7 

1776 

James  Bachope 

[127] 

Sept. 

7 

1776 

William  Roberts 

[128] 

Sept. 

4 

1776 

Prince  Williams 

[129] 

Sept. 

7 

1776 

John  Willson  .     . 

[130] 

Aug. 

19 

1776 

William  Kelly     . 

[131] 

Sept. 

4 

1776 

William  Middleton 

[132] 

Sept. 

4 

1776 

William  Wells     . 

[133] 

Sept. 

7 

1776 

William  Lewis    . 

[134] 

Sept. 

7 

1776 

Patrick  Devaraux 

[135] 

Sept. 

7 

1776 

Thomas  Burch    . 

[136] 

Sept. 

7 

1776 

John  Traverse    . 

[137] 

Sept. 

22 

1776 

John  Brown    .  ". 

[138] 

Sept. 

23 

1776 

Benj.  Hill      .     . 

[139] 

Sept. 

23 

1776 

Jonathan  Fish     . 

[140] 

Sept. 

23 

1776 

Tho'  Brewer  .     . 

[141] 

Sept. 

23 

1776 

George  Nicholson 

[142] 

Sept. 

23 

1776 

John  Fears     .     . 

[143] 

Sept. 

23 

1776 

Stephen  Seamore 

[144] 

Sept. 

23 

1776 

Isaac  Caplin  .     . 

Station 


Surgeon's  mate 


Seaman 

Actg.midshipman 

Seaman 

Landsman 

Landsman 

Landsman 

Seaman 

Landsman 

Seaman 

Landsman 

Seaman 

Seaman     .     .     . 

Seaman     .     .     . 

Seaman 

Boy 

Boy 

Seaman 

Pilot     .     .     .    . 

Actg.midshipman 

Carpenter's  mate 

Seaman 

Seaman 

Seaman     .    .    . 

Seaman 


Run,  Dead,  Discharged 

Sick  at  Newport, 
Oct.  10 


Run  Oct.  20,  1776 
Run  Sept.  23,  1776 


Hospital  Oct.  10 

Dis.  Oct.  29 
Dis.  Oct. 
Run  Oct.  23 


Run  Oct.  20,  1776 
Run  Oct.  20,  1776 


50 


Time  promoted 

Turned  over  from  Turned  over  to  Month  Year 

[117] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[118] Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[119] Ship  A Ifred Oct.  20  1776 

[120]  .     Brig.  Favourite  taken  .     .     .  Prize  Brig.  Defiance  .     .     .     .  Sept.  23  1776 

[121]     .     Brig.  Favourite Prize  Brig.  Defiance   ....  Sept.  23  1776 

[122]  .     Sea  Nymph  taken   ....  Ship  A  Ifred Oct.  20  1776 

[123]     .    Sea  Nymph Ship  A  Ifred Oct.  20  1776 

[124]     .    Sea  Nymph Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[125]     .    Sea  Nymph Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[126]     .    Favourite Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[127]     .     Favourite Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[128]     .     Sea  Nymph Ship  A  Ifred Oct.  20  1776 

[129]     .     Favourite Ship  Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[130] Prize Sept.  8  1776 

[131]     .    Sea  Nymph Sick  quarters Oct.  10  1776 

[132]  .     Sea  Nymph 

[133]  .    Favourite 

[134]     .     Favourite Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[135]     .    Favourite Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[136]     .    Favourite Sick  quarters     ......  Oct.  10  1776 

[137] Alfred Oct.  20  1776 

[138] 
[139] 
[140] 

[141] Prize  Brig.  Defiance  .     .     .     .  Sept.  23  1776 

[142] Prize  Brig.  Defiance  .     .     .     .  Sept.  23  1776 

[143] 
[144] 


51 


The  original  of  the  following  letter 
(which  does  not  appear  ever  to  have  been 
published)  is  in  the  valuable  collection  of 
naval  literature  owned  by  Mr.  Charles  T. 
Harbeck,  by  whose  kind  permission  it  is 
now  printed : 

L 'Orient,  Feby  24th  1779. 

In  the  fulness  of  my  heart  I  congratulate 
you  on  your  well  merited  elevation  to  the 
Dignity  of  a  Seat  in  the  first  Senate  on  this 
Globe.  I  trust  you  will  believe  that  I  do 
now  and  ever  shall  rejoice  in  every  circum 
stance  that  tends  to  promote  the  honor  and 
happiness  of  a  good  man,  whose  ambition 
it  is  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  human  Nature 
and  who  claims  my  regard  and  affection 
with  an  affection  that  proceeds  directly  from 
the  Heart  and  is  due  only  to  the  best  of 
Friends. 

My  correspondence  with  you  has  been  in- 

53 


terrupted  thro'  the  perplexity  of  my  situa 
tion  since  the  month  of  May,  as  well  as 
thro'  my  expectations  of  seeing  you  again 
in  Europe. 

I  have  now  only  time  to  refer  you  to  the 
within  papers  and  to  the  letters  and  papers 
which  I  have  lately  forwarded  and  now  for 
ward  to  Mr  Morris,  particularly  my  letters 
to  him  of  the  13th  and  14th  of  Nov.  last. 

I  am  told  that  Lieutenant  Simpson  is 
again  fitting  out  the  Ranger.  I  can  say 
nothing  on  the  propriety  or  the  impropriety 
of  that  Measure.  I  will  govern  myself  by 
Mr  Morris's  advice,  therefore  I  beg  of  you 
to  write  to  me. 

I  hope  you  are  in  the  Marine  Committee 
-be  it  so  or  not,  I  shall  send  you  my  free 
thoughts  as  they  occur  on  Navy  Matters; 
there  is  in  that  department  great  room  for 
amendments,  and  the  abuses  in  it  at  this 
distance  appear  so  bare-faced  that  I  am  not 
very  ambitious  to  approach  too  near  the  ob 
ject.  I  shall  for  the  present  content  myself 
if  I  can  do  any  real  service  to  the  Common 
Cause  or  any  honor  to  the  American  Flag 
without  subjecting  America  to  any  expense. 

54 


I  am  obliged  to  be  thus  short  as  the  bearer 
departs  immediately  and  has  not  given  me 
half  an  hour's  warning.  The  within  papers 
may,  //  you  please,  be  laid  before  Congress. 

I  am  truly  and  affectionately 

Your  Friend  &  Servant, 

JNO  P.  JONES 

N.B. — Dr.  Franklin,  who  honors  me  with 
his  Friendship,  will  take  care  of  my  letters. 

To  the  Honbie  WILLIAM  CARMICHAEL. 


55 


THE  RECOVERY  OF  THE  BODY 
OF 

JOHN  PAUL  JONES 


BY 

GENERAL  HORACE  PORTER,  LL.D. 

Recently  Ambassador  of  the  United  States  to  France 


THE  RECOVERY  OF  THE   BODY 

OF 

JOHN   PAUL  JONES1 

UPON  assuming  charge  of  our  embassy  in  Paris 
and  finding  myself  among  the  old  landmarks 
which  are  still  honored  there  as  recalling  the  many 
historic  incidents  in  the  sojourn  of  Paul  Jones  in  that 
brilliant  capital,  I  felt  a  deep  sense  of  humiliation 
as  an  American  citizen  in  realizing  that  our  first  and 
most  fascinating  naval  hero  had  been  lying  for  more 
than  a  century  in  an  unknown  and  forgotten  grave 
and  that  no  successful  attempt  had  ever  been  made 
to  recover  his  remains  and  give  them  appropriate 
sepulture  in  the  land  upon  whose  history  he  had  shed 
so  much  luster. 

Knowing  that  he  had  been  buried  in  Paris,  I  re 
solved  to  undertake  personally  a  systematic  and  ex 
haustive  search  for  the  body. 

The  investigation  began  in  June,  1899.  The  first 
step  was  to  study  all  the  writings  obtainable  relating 
to  him,  including  official  documents.  The  certificate 
of  his  burial  had  been  registered,  but  the  register  had 
been  placed  with  other  archives  of  the  city  of  Paris 

1  Copyright,  1905,  by  Horace  Porter. 

59 


in  an  annex  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  situated  on  Vic 
toria  Avenue,  and  had  been  destroyed  with  other  im 
portant  records  when  the  government  buildings  were 
burned  by  the  Commune  in  May,  1871.  Fortunately, 
in  1859,  Mr.  Charles  Read,  an  archaeologist,  investi 
gator,  and  writer  of  note,  had  made  a  transcript  of 
the  register  in  which  this  certificate  was  recorded, 
and  I  finally  succeeded  in  securing  a  correct  copy. 
The  following  is  a  translation  of  this  interesting  docu 
ment: 

To-day,  July  20th,  1792,  year  IV  of  Liberty,  at 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  conformably  to  the  de 
cree  of  the  National  Assembly  of  yesterday,  in  pres 
ence  of  the  delegation  of  the  said  Assembly,  com 
posed  of  Messrs.  Brun,  President  of  the  delegation 
of  the  said  assembly,  Bravet,  Cambon,  Rouyer, 
Brival,  Deydier,  Gay  Vernon,  Bishop  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  Haute  Vienne,  Chabot,  Episcopal  Vicar  of 
the  Department  of  Loir  and  Cher,  Carlier,  Petit,  Le 
Josnes,  Robouame,  and  of  a  deputation  of  the  Con 
sistory  of  the  Protestants  of  Paris,  composed  of 
Messrs.  Marron  the  pastor,  Perreaux,  Benard,  Mar 
quis  Mouguin,  and  Empaytaz,  Anciens,  was  buried  in 
the  cemetery  for  foreign  Protestants  JEAN  PAUL 
JONES,  native  of  England  and  citizen  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  senior  naval  officer  in  the  service 
of  the  said  States,  aged  45  years,  died  the  18th  of 
this  month  at  his  residence  situated  at  No.  42,  Rue 
de  Tournon,  from  dropsy  of  the  chest,  in  the  faith 
of  the  Protestant  religion.  The  said  burial  was  made 
in  our  presence  by  Pierre  Francois  Simonneau,  Com 
missary  of  the  King  for  this  section  and  Commissary 
of  Police  for  the  Ponceau  section,  in  presence  of 

60 


M.  Samuel  Blackden,  Colonel  of  Dragoons  in  the 
service  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  and  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States  of  America;  J.  C.  Mountflorence, 
formerly  Major  in  the  service  of  the  United  States; 
Marie  Jean  Baptiste  Benoist  Beaupoil,  formerly  a 
French  officer  residing  in  Paris  at  No.  7,  Passage 
des  Petits  Peres;  and  of  Louis  Nicolas  Villeminot,  the 
officer  commanding  the  detachment  of  grenadiers  of 
the  gendarmerie  which  escorted  the  delegation  of 
the  Assembly;  and  others  who  have  signed  with  us. 

Brun;  Gay  Vernon,  bishop  and  deputy;  Deydier, 
deputy  from  the  Department  of  Ain;  Rouyer;  Fran- 
gois  Chabot;  Benard;  J.  C.  Mountflorence;  Petit; 
Cambon  fils  aine;  Brave;  Beaupoil;  P.  H.  Carlier; 
Durvesque;  Lafontaine;  Simonneau;  Jacques  Briviel; 
Villeminot;  Robouame,  deputy;  Marron;  Perreaux; 
Mouguin;  Empaytaz;  R.  Ghiselin  of  Maryland;  S. 
Blackden ;  Griffith  of  Philadelphia. 

Historians  have  differed  as  to  the  date  of  the  death; 
the  above  quoted  act  of  burial  fixes  it  definitely  on 
July  18,  1792.  The  best  description  of  Paul  Jones's 
last  moments  is  given  in  a  letter  received  a  month 
after  the  funeral  by  his  eldest  sister,  Mrs.  Jenny  Tay 
lor  (sometimes  spelled  in  the  official  documents 
Jeanne,  Janet,  and  Janette),  in  Scotland,  written  by 
his  intimate  friend,  a  witness  of  his  will  and  a  pall 
bearer  at  his  funeral,  Colonel  Samuel  Blackden,  a 
rich  planter  from  North  Carolina,  who  had  served 
with  distinction  in  the  American  Revolution,  and  was 
in  Paris  on  business  at  the  time  of  Paul  Jones's  last 
illness  and  death.  The  following  is  an  extract  from 
his  letter: 

61 


But  for  two  months  past  he  began  to  lose  his  appe 
tite,  grew  yellow  and  showed  symptoms  of  jaundice. 
For  this  he  took  medical  treatment  and  for  a  short 
time  seemed  to  grow  better.  A  few  days  before  his 
death  his  legs  began  to  swell,  which  proceeded  up 
ward  to  his  body,  so  that  for  two  days  before  his 
decease  he  could  not  button  his  waistcoat  and  had 
great  difficulty  in  breathing. 

I  visited  him  every  day,  and,  beginning  to  be  ap 
prehensive  of  his  danger,  desired  him  to  settle  his 
affairs;  but  he  would  not  take  that  view  of  it,  and 
put  off  the  making  of  his  will  until  the  after 
noon  of  July  18th,  when  he  was  prevailed  upon  to 
send  for  a  notary  and  made  his  will.  M.  Beaupoil 
and  myself  witnessed  it  and  left  him  sitting  in  a  chair 
in  his  parlor.  A  few  minutes  after  we  retired  he 
walked  into  his  chamber  and  laid  himself  upon  his 
face  on  the  bedside,  with  his  feet  on  the  floor.  The 
Queen's  physician,  who  was  attending  him,  came 
soon  after,  and  on  entering  the  apartment  found  him 
in  that  position,  and  on  trying  to  lift  him  up,  found 
that  he  had  expired.  His  disorder  had  terminated 
in  dropsy  of  the  heart.  His  body  was  put  into  a 
leaden  coffin  on  the  20th,  that,  in  case  the  United 
States,  which  he  had  so  essentially  served,  and  with 
so  much  honor,  should  claim  his  remains  they  might 
be  more  easily  removed. 


M.  Beaupoil,  whom  he  mentioned,  was  a  major 
in  the  French  army  and  an  aide-de-camp  to  Lafay 
ette,  with  whom  he  had  served  in  the  American  Revo 
lution. 

I  was  misled  for  some  time  by  having  been  fur 
nished  with  an  alleged  copy  of  the  certificate  of 

62 


burial  published  in  the  "  Bulletin  of  the  Society  of 
the  History  of  Protestantism,"  in  which  there  had 
been  omitted  after  the  word  "  anciens,"  doubtless 
through  an  error  of  the  copyist,  the  following  all- 
important  phrase,  "  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  for 
foreign  Protestants."  Besides  this,  eight  words  of 
minor  significance  had  been  omitted.  The  fact  that 
the  French  construction  was  defective  without  some 
additional  words  led  to  another  search,  and  in  the 
Bibliotheque  Nationale  was  at  last  found  a  copy  of 
a  magazine  called  the  "  Correspondance  Litteraire," 
containing  an  article  by  Charles  Read,  giving  the 
correct  copy  of  the  certificate  of  burial,  which  he  had 
made  from  the  register  referred  to  and  of  which  the 
above  is  an  English  translation.  The  article  ex 
pressed  the  conviction  of  Mr.  Read  that  the  cemetery 
for  foreign  Protestants  was  the  long  since  abandoned 
and  almost  forgotten  cemetery  of  Saint  Louis,  situ 
ated  upon  a  street  formerly  called  L'Hopital  Saint 
Louis,  at  present  Grange-aux-Belles. 

As  some  writers  had  expressed,  however  vaguely, 
different  opinions,  I  instituted  a  long  and  exhaustive 
search  to  verify  the  grounds  upon  which  Mr.  Read 
had  based  his  belief. 

Public  records  were  found  showing  that  in  1720 
the  government,  at  the  instigation  of  Holland,  had 
set  aside  a  lot  for  the  burial  of  foreign  Protestants 
near  the  Porte  Saint  Martin,  called  the  Saint  Martin 
cemetery,  but  which  was  closed  in  1762.  The  Saint 
Louis  cemetery  for  foreign  Protestants  was  opened 

63 


about  that  time  and  officially  closed  in  January,  1793, 
six  months  after  Paul  Jones's  decease,  although  some 
interments  were  made  thereafter. 

The  custodian  in  charge  of  each  of  these  ceme 
teries  was  named  Corroy,  and  it  was  ascertained  from 
certain  old  documents  discovered  that  the  position 
had  descended  from  father  to  son,  which  was  evi 
dence  tending  to  show  that  the  Saint  Louis  was  the 
immediate  successor  of  the  Porte  Saint  Martin  ceme 
tery.  A  copy  was  afterward  found  of  a  decree  con 
firming  this  fact,  issued  May  26,  1781,  and  approved 
by  De  Vergennes,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  under 
Louis  XVI,  regarding  the  burial  of  foreign  Protes 
tants.  From  this  decree  have  been  taken  the  fol 
lowing  extracts: 

By  an  order  of  Council  of  June  20th,  1720,  it  was 
decreed  that  there  should  be  designated  a  place  for 
the  burial  of  the  bodies  of  Foreign  Protestants.  The 
ground  which  was  chosen  was  situated  near  the  Porte 
Saint  Martin.  .  .  . 

In  the  year  1762  the  cemetery  was  transferred  be 
hind  the  Saint  Louis  Hospital. 

This  description  clearly  designated  the  Saint  Louis 
cemetery.  To  endeavor  to  obtain  some  authentic  in 
formation  as  to  whether  there  were  any  other  ceme 
teries  for  foreign  Protestants  in  existence  at  the  time, 
and  whether  any  further  corroborative  evidence  could 
be  found  regarding  the  burial-place  of  the  admiral,  an 
examination  requiring  several  months  was  made  of 
all  the  journals  and  periodicals  obtainable  of  about 
64 


the  date  of  the  funeral,  which  took  place  July  20, 
1792.  Access  was  had  to  more  than  a  hundred  pub 
lications  which  were  found  in  the  possession  of 
libraries,  societies,  and  individuals. 

The  "Monitor,"  Tome  XIII,  page  192,  published 
a  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  National  Assembly, 
session  of  July  19,  1792,  the  day  after  Paul  Jones's 
death,  which  contained  the  following  statement: 

A  letter  was  read  from  Colonel  Blackden,  a  friend 
of  Commodore  Paul  Jones,  which  announced  that 
his  friend  having  died  in  Paris,  application  was  made 
to  M.  Simonneau,  Commissary  of  the  section,  to  have 
him  buried  without  charge  in  accordance  with  a  for 
mality  still  existing  in  regard  to  Protestants.  M. 
Simonneau  was  indignant  and  replied  that  if  the  ex 
penses  were  not  provided  he  would  pay  them  him 
self.  [Applause.] 

The  "  formality  "  mentioned  referred  to  a  decree 
by  which  M.  Simonneau,  who  was  also  "  Commissary 
of  the  King,"  was  charged  with  the  burial  of  all  for 
eign  Protestants.  The  letter  of  Colonel  Blackden 
was  published  in  the  "  Boston  Journal  "  of  that  year 
and  is  as  follows: 

MR.  PRESIDENT:  I  announce  to  you  that  Admiral 
Paul  Jones  died  last  evening  in  Paris;  that  the  Amer 
ican  Minister  has  ordered  the  person  at  whose  house 
the  Admiral  lodged  to  cause  him  to  be  interred  in 
the  most  private  manner,  and  at  the  least  possible 
expense !  !  !  This  person,  on  account  of  the  formali 
ties  still  existing  relative  to  Protestants,  found  it 

65 


necessary  to  apply  to  a  Commissary.  He  has  done 
it,  and  M.  Simonneau  the  Commissary  expresses  his 
astonishment  at  the  order  given  by  the  Minister,  and 
says  that  a  man  who  has  rendered  such  signal  ser 
vices  to  France  and  America  ought  to  have  a  public 
burial.  He  adds  that  if  America  will  not  pay  the 
expense  he  will  pay  it  himself.  The  friends  of  the 
Admiral  wait  the  orders  of  the  Assembly  respecting 
the  mode  of  interment. 

S.  BLACKDEN, 

Late  Colonel  in  the  Service  of  the  United  States 

In  order  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  whether  M.  Si 
monneau  had  actually  paid  the  funeral  expenses  out 
of  his  own  means  or  whether  some  other  provision 
had  been  made,  I  instituted  a  search  in  the  various 
departments  of  the  government  in  the  hope  of  find 
ing  some  record  of  the  action  taken.  Fortunately 
a  letter  was  finally  found  in  the  National  Archives 
written  by  the  then  Minister  of  Justice,  M.  Dejoly, 
dated  July  22,  1792,  two  days  after  the  funeral,  from 
which  the  following  is  an  extract: 

To  THE  NATIONAL  ASSEMBLY:  M.  Simonneau  has 
furnished  the  cost  of  the  interment  of  Admiral  Paul 
Jones,  of  which  the  bill  amounts  to  462  francs.  This 
is  an  homage  which  he  has  rendered  to  the  remains 
of  this  celebrated  man,  and  this  act  of  good  citizen 
ship  is  worthy  of  M.  Simonneau,  brother  of  the 
Mayor  of  Etampes,  who  died  in  executing  the  law. 

This  brought  to  light  for  the  first  time  the  morti 
fying  fact  that  the  hero  who  had  once  been  the  idol 
66 


of  the  American  people  had  been  buried  by  charity, 
and  that  the  payment  of  his  funeral  expenses  was 
the  timely  and  generous  act  of  a  foreign  admirer. 

I  made  a  search  to  see  whether  any  needy  lineal 
descendants  of  M.  Pierre  Frangois  Simonneau,  the 
generous  Commissary,  could  be  found,  with  a  view 
to  paying  to  them  the  amount,  with  interest,  expended 
by  their  worthy  ancestor,  as  a  tardy  recognition  of 
his  noble  act.  Six  persons  of  that  name  were  dis 
covered  and  communicated  with,  but  no  proof  could 
be  ascertained  that  any  one  of  them  was  a  descendant. 

Our  minister  to  France  at  that  time,  Gouverneur 
Morris,  who  was  on  terms  of  close  intimacy  with 
Paul  Jones  and  who  superintended  the  drawing  up 
of  the  schedule  of  his  property  the  afternoon  before 
his  death,  says  in  a  letter  dated  April  19,  1793,  pub 
lished  in  his  "  Diary  and  Letters,"  Volume  II,  page 
46,  and  addressed  to  Robert  Morris: 

Before  I  quit  Paul  Jones  I  must  tell  you  that  some 
people  here  who  like  rare  shows  wished  him  to  have 
a  pompous  funeral,  and  I  was  applied  to  on  the  sub 
ject;  but  as  I  had  no  right  to  spend  money  on  such 
follies,  either  the  money  of  his  heirs  or  that  of  the 
United  States,  I  desired  that  he  might  be  buried  in 
a  private  and  economical  manner.  I  have  since  had 
reason  to  be  glad  that  I  did  not  agree  to  waste  money 
of  which  he  had  no  great  abundance  and  for  which 
his  relatives  entertained  a  tender  regard. 

The  impression  as  to  the  admiral's  having  no  great 
abundance  of  means  proved  later  to  be  erroneous. 

67 


When  his  effects  were  sold,  stocks  converted  into 
cash,  and  arrears  of  pay  collected,  the  sum  procured 
amounted  to  about  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  much 
more  was  realized  afterward,  which  went  to  his  heirs. 
And  yet  there  seemed  to  be  no  ready  money  avail 
able  at  his  death  to  provide  for  his  funeral. 

After  finding  the  living  successor  to  the  notary  who 
made  the  settlement  of  the  estate  and  who  was  in 
possession  of  all  the  original  papers  in  French,  I  had 
the  detailed  account  examined  and  ascertained  that 
M.  Simonneau  had  not  been  reimbursed  for  the 
money  he  expended.  The  inventory  found  among 
these  papers  and  made  after  Paul  Jones's  death  enu 
merates  among  the  articles  left  by  him,  seven  uni 
forms,  twelve  decorations,  and  four  swords.  It  was 
natural  to  suppose  that  this  large  number  included 
all  such  articles  as  he  possessed,  and  as  in  those  days 
they  were  regarded  as  valuable  relics  to  be  be 
queathed  to  heirs,  and  as  it  was  not  customary  to 
clothe  the  dead  but  to  bury  them  in  winding-sheets, 
it  seemed  quite  probable  that  no  uniform,  sword,  or 
decoration  would  be  found  in  the  admiral's  coffin. 
Buell  says  of  Paul  Jones  (page  366,  Volume  II) : 
"  He  was  buried  in  a  shroud,  without  uniform  or 
trappings  of  any  kind."  In  the  settlement  of  the 
estate  all  the  above-named  articles  were  sold  except 
the  sword  presented  to  him  by  Louis  XVI  in  recog 
nition  of  his  heroic  achievement  in  capturing  the 
Serapis.  This  the  admiral  disposed  of  orally  just 
before  his  death,  bequeathing  it  to  Richard  Dale,  his 

68 


first  lieutenant  aboard  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  say 
ing:  "  My  good  old  Dick  is  better  entitled  to  it  than 
any  one  else,  because  he  did  more  than  any  other 
to  help  me  win  it." 

M.  Simonneau,  having  taken  so  much  interest  in 
Paul  Jones  and  being  in  sole  charge  of  the  burial 
of  foreign  Protestants  in  Paris,  would  naturally  have 
interred  him  in  the  officially  designated  and  most 
prominent  burial-ground  devoted  to  that  purpose  if 
there  were  more  than  one  in  existence.  The  Saint 
Louis  cemetery  was  well  known  and  officially  desig 
nated,  and  as  no  mention  could  be  found  of  any  other 
in  Paris  for  foreign  Protestants  at  the  time,  the  natu 
ral  inference  was  that  the  burial  had  taken  place 
there.  Certain  records  discovered  in  Paris  showed 
that  M.  Hop,  ambassador  of  Holland  to  France,  had 
succeeded  in  securing  the  cemetery  granted  by  de 
cree  in  1720,  and  which  was  opened  in  1724  for  for 
eign  Protestants,  and  that  in  that  cemetery  as  well 
as  in  its  successors  all  the  burials  of  such  persons 
could  be  made  only  upon  certificates  issued  by  the 
Dutch  embassy. 

With  a  view  to  ascertaining  some  information  from 
that  source,  a  search  was  made  at  my  request  of  the 
records  of  the  Dutch  legation  in  Paris  and  in  the 
foreign  office  at  The  Hague,  but  it  was  found  that 
while  some  useful  information  was  obtained,  no 
copies  of  such  certificates  had  been  preserved. 

The  person  who  delivered  Paul  Jones's  funeral 
oration  was  M.  Paul  Henri  Marron,  who  had  come 

69 


from  Holland  and  was  pastor  of  a  Protestant  house 
of  worship  in  Paris  called  the  Church  of  Saint  Louis. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  his  rather  florid  address : 

Legislators!  Citizens!  Soldiers!  Friends! 
Brethren!  and  Frenchmen!  We  have  just  returned 
to  the  earth  the  remains  of  an  illustrious  stranger, 
one  of  the  first  champions  of  American  liberty — of 
that  liberty  which  so  gloriously  ushered  in  our  own. 
r~The  Semiramis  of  the  North  had  drawn  him  under 
her  standard,  but  Paul  Jones  could  not  long  breathe 
pestilential  air  of  despotism;  he  preferred  the 
sweets  of  a  private  life  in  France,  now  free,  to  the 
eclat  of  titles  and  of  honors  which,  from  an  usurped 
throne,  were  lavished  upon  him  by  Catherine.  The 
fame  of  the  brave  outlives  him,  his  portion  is  im 
mortality.  What  more  flattering  homage  could  we  pay 
to  the  remains  of  Paul  Jones  than  to  swear  on  his 
tomb  to  live  and  die  free?  It  is  the  vow,  it  is  the 
watchword  of  every  Frenchman — Let  never  tyrants 
nor  their  satellites  pollute  this  sacred  earth!  May 
the  ashes  of  the  great  man,  too  soon  lost  to  humanity, 
and  eager  to  be  free,  enjoy  here  an  undisturbed  re 
pose!  Let  his  example  teach  posterity  the  efforts 
which  noble  souls  are  capable  of  making  when  stimu 
lated  by  hatred  of  oppression.  Friends  and  brethren, 
a  noble  emulation  brightens  in  your  looks;  your  time 
is  precious — the  country  is  in  danger!  Who  among 
us  would  not  shed  the  last  drop  of  his  blood  to  save 
it?  Associate  yourselves  with  the  glory  of  Paul 
Jones,  in  imitating  him  in  his  contempt  of  danger,  in 
his  devotedness  to  his  country,  in  his  noble  patriot 
ism,  which,  after  having  astonished  the  present  age, 
will  continue  to  be  the  imperishable  object  of  the 
veneration  of  future  generations! 

70 


It  is  not  a  little  singular  that,  notwithstanding  the 
radical  sentiments  expressed  by  this  pastor,  he  was 
several  times  arrested  by  the  revolutionists  and  was 
once  or  twice  in  great  peril  of  his  life. 

I  found  the  book  containing  the  minutes  of  the 
meetings  of  the  consistory  of  M.  Marron's  church, 
but  just  at  the  date  of  Paul  Jones's  death  four  pages 
had  been  torn  out.  This  was  one  of  the  many  dis 
appointments  encountered  during  the  researches.  I 
then  set  to  work  upon  the  task  of  trying  to  trace  the 
lost  leaves.  The  name  of  a  M.  Coquerel,  a  former 
pastor  of  the  church,  was  mentioned  in  a  publication 
as  an  enthusiastic  collector  of  papers  relating  to 
Protestantism  in  Paris.  My  search  in  junk-shops  and 
antiquarian  stores  revealed  the  fact  that  M.  Coque- 
rel's  heirs  had  sold  some  old  papers  which  had  after 
ward  been  purchased  by  the  Society  of  the  History 
of  Protestantism,  and  in  its  library  were  finally  found 
the  four  lost  pages. 

I  now  ascertained  positively  that  M.  Marron  buried 
his  parishioners  in  the  Saint  Louis  cemetery,  and  the 
fact  that  he  had  delivered  the  funeral  oration  of 
Paul  Jones  would  be  some  indication  that  he  had  also 
buried  him  there. 

While  all  the  proofs  thus  far  distinctly  designated 
this  cemetery  as  the  admiral's  place  of  burial,  still 
it  was  deemed  prudent  to  investigate  the  source  of 
various  rumors  to  the  contrary,  however  improbable. 
The  elder  Dumas  in  his  romance  of  "  The  Pioneer  " 
represents  Paul  Jones  as  having  been  buried  in  Pere 

71 


Lachaise.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  this  cele 
brated  cemetery  had  not  been  opened  till  thirteen 
years  after  the  admiral  was  buried,  yet  to  be  sure 
that  his  body  had  not  been  transferred  there  in  later 
years,  a  thorough  examination  was  made  of  the  regis 
ters  in  which  the  records  of  burials  have  been  care 
fully  kept.  The  only  male  persons  found  upon  the 
registers  bearing  the  family  name  of  Jones  were 
George  Jones,  but  spelled  Jones  on  the  gravestone, 
died  in  1820;  John  Querean  Jones  in  1822;  James 
Jones  in  1827;  Charles  Jones  in  1829;  Edouard 
Thomas  Jones  in  1833.  It  was  therefore  certain  that 
the  admiral's  remains  were  not  in  Pere  Lachaise. 

There  was  another  fanciful  story  that  he  had  been 
interred  in  Picpus  cemetery,  where  Lafayette  was 
buried;  but  as  Paul  Jones,  as  recorded  in  his  certifi 
cate  of  burial,  was  of  the  Protestant  faith,  his  in 
terment  in  any  cemetery  of  the  established  church 
would  have  been  prohibited.  Still  a  search  was 
made,  and  it  disproved  the  rumor. 

A  letter  came  to  me  from  a  person  who  had  lived 
in  Scotland  when  a  child,  many  years  ago,  saying 
Paul  Jones  had  been  buried  in  Kirkbean  churchyard 
near  Dumfries,  Scotland,  that  his  tomb  was  there  with 
his  name  inscribed  on  it,  etc.  I  referred  the  letter 
to  the  rector  of  the  church,  the  Rev.  D.  W.  Mac  Ken- 
zie,  who  replied  that  it  was  the  tomb  of  the  father, 
saying: 

The  inscription  on  it  is  as  follows :  "  In  memory 
of  John  Paul,  Senior,  who  died  at  Abigland  the  24th 

72 


of  October  1767  universally  esteemed."  At  the  bot 
tom  of  the  tomb  appears  the  inscription :  "  Erected 
by  John  Paul,  Junior."  John  Paul,  of  course,  is  the 
original  name  of  John  Paul  Jones,  the  Admiral.  I 
take  great  interest  in  the  history  of  the  Admiral,  and 
local  traditions  or  printed  documents  suggest  nothing 
at  variance  with  the  accepted  opinion  that  he  died 
in  Paris  and  was  buried  in  the  Protestant  cemetery 
there. 

After  further  researches  in  every  possible  quarter 
that  could  furnish  information  on  the  subject,  the 
fact  was  clearly  and  incontestably  established  that 
the  Saint  Louis  cemetery  was  the  only  burial-ground 
in  Paris  for  foreign  Protestants  at  the  time  of  Paul 
Jones's  death,  that  he  was  not  interred  in  any  other 
cemetery,  and  that  Charles  Read  was  perfectly  cor 
rect  in  his  opinion  that  the  admiral  had  positively 
been  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  Saint  Louis.  It 
should  be  remembered  also  that  the  act  of  burial 
says,  "  The  cemetery  for  foreign  Protestants  " — lan 
guage  which  would  indicate  that  there  was  only  one 
in  existence  devoted  to  that  purpose. 

All  doubt  having  been  removed  as  to  the  place  of 
burial,  the  next  step  was  to  make  a  personal  inspec 
tion  of  the  ground  beneath  which  the  long  since 
abandoned  cemetery  was  located  and  to  endeavor  to 
ascertain  its  history  and  its  condition  at  the  time  of 
Paul  Jones's  death. 

It  is  situated  in  an  uninviting  section  of  the  north 
eastern  quarter  of  Paris  at  the  corner  of  two  streets 
now  known  as  Rue  Grange-aux-Belles  and  Rue  des 
Ecluses  Saint  Martin,  and  covered  with  buildings, 

73 


principally  of  an  inferior  class.  The  property  at  the 
time  of  the  admiral's  burial  belonged  to  the  govern 
ment,  and  was  sold  to  M.  Phalipeaux,  a  building  con 
tractor,  in  1796.  This  quarter  of  the  city  was  known 
as  "  le  Combat,"  and  the  present  station  of  the  un 
derground  railroad  close  to  the  property  is  called 
"  Combat."  This  name  was  not  chosen,  however,  on 
account  of  the  burial  there  of  the  most  combative 
of  men;  but  history  attributes  the  term  to  the  fact 
that  this  section  of  Paris  was  long  ago  the  scene  of 
all  the  rights  in  which  animals  figured — bulls,  cocks, 
dogs,  asses,  etc. 

A  street  which  leads  directly  to  the  property  and 
ends  there  is  named  Vicq  d'Azyr,  after  Marie  An 
toinette's  physician,  a  friend  of  Paul  Jones,  who  at 
tended  him  and  who  accompanied  Gouverneur  Morris 
on  his  visit  to  the  admiral's  house  when  he  lay  on 
his  death-bed  the  evening  of  July  18,  1792.  When 
a  person's  name  is  given  to  a  street  in  Paris  it  is 
generally  in  a  quarter  connected  with  events  in  his 
career.  Whether  the  distinguished  physician's  name 
was  given  to  the  street  because  of  its  leading  to  the 
place  which  held  the  remains  of  his  illustrious  friend 
and  patient  is  not  positively  known. 

Two  old  maps  of  the  property  were  finally  discov 
ered,  one  made  by  M.  Jaillot  in  1773,  and  one  by 
M.  Verniquet  in  1794,  showing  that  the  ground  con 
sisted  of  a  courtyard  with  a  frontage  of  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty  feet  upon  Rue  des  Ecluses  Saint 
Martin,  with  an  entrance  on  that  street  and  a  depth 

74 


of  about  ninety  feet  along  Rue  Grange-aux-Belles. 
There  was  a  garden  in  the  rear  with  a  frontage  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  on  Rue  Grange-aux- 
Belles  and  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet. 
The  surface  of  the  garden  was  about  eight  feet  lower 
than  that  of  the  courtyard,  the  descent  to  which  was 
made  by  a  flight  of  steps.  Thirty  years  later  the 
grade  of  the  street  had  been  changed  and  the  garden 
had  been  leveled  up  even  with  the  courtyard,  and 
the  fact  seemed  to  have  been  lost  sight  of  that  there 
had  ever  been  a  cemetery  beneath.  There  were  two 
cross-walks  dividing  the  garden  into  four  squares. 
The  whole  property  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  be 
tween  six  and  nine  feet  high.  There  was  a  house  in 
the  courtyard  and  a  shed,  but  no  buildings  in  the 
garden. 

By  a  decree  of  the  government  the  garden  was 
devoted  exclusively  to  the  burial  of  foreign  Protes 
tants.  On  the  30th  of  September,  1777,  a  decree  was 
issued  permitting  native  Protestants  to  be  buried 
thereafter  in  the  courtyard.  This  cemetery,  as  here 
inbefore  mentioned,  was  legally  closed  in  January, 
1793,  but  the  former  custodian,  who  had  become  the 
lessor,  and  the  subsequent  owners  who  had  purchased 
the  property  from  the  government,  were  allowed  to 
make  some  burials  for  eleven  years  thereafter. 

I  found  in  the  tenth  arrondissement,  then  the  fifth, 
a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by  the  mayor,  dated  May 
26,  1804,  directing  Citizen  Richer  to  inspect  the  Prot 
estant  cemetery.  After  a  long  search  I  discovered 

75 


in  another  quarter  of  the  city  his  report  of  June  8 
of  that  year.  It  was  in  much  detail  and  was  entirely 
in  accordance  with  the  maps  heretofore  mentioned 
in  describing  the  Saint  Louis  cemetery.  Its  accuracy 
was  verified  in  every  particular  when  this  cemetery 
was  afterward  explored. 

The  next  question  was  whether  the  dead  had  ever 
been  removed  from  this  abandoned  cemetery,  as  had 
been  the  case  in  many  others.  Satisfactory  proof 
was  readily  obtained  that  such  an  act  had  not  taken 
place  before  1803  or  after  1830.  A  search  of  the 
registers  of  the  Catacombs,  where  all  the  dead  that 
are  removed  from  abandoned  cemeteries  are  depos 
ited,  showed  no  record  of  any  bodies  having  been 
received  from  the  Saint  Louis  cemetery  between  the 
above  dates  or  at  any  other  time,  and  there  could  be 
found  no  information  in  any  of  the  public  depart 
ments  showing  that  any  removal  had  ever  been  made 
from  that  burial-ground  except  of  the  remains  of 
Lady  Alexander  Grant,  whose  body  had  been  ex 
humed  for  transportation  to  England,  by  formal  per 
mission  of  the  city  authorities,  duly  recorded,  May  2, 
1803.  There  was  registered  at  the  Catacombs  the 
receipt  of  leaden  coffins  from  other  abandoned  ceme 
teries,  and  the  removal  there  of  a  hand-stretcher  load 
of  human  bones  from  No.  39  Rue  Grange-aux-Belles 
and  another  from  No.  4  Rue  des  Ecluses  Saint  Martin. 
These  lots  had  once  been  used  as  a  kind  of  potter's 
field.  They  were  near  to,  but  entirely  outside  of  the 
Saint  Louis  cemetery. 

76 


Having  established  the  impossibility  of  the  leaden 
coffin  having  been  removed  by  legitimate  means,  the 
only  remaining  doubt  that  could  exist  was  based  upon 
the  suggestion  that  it  might  have  been  unearthed  by 
the  revolutionary  armies  to  convert  it  into  bullets. 
This  unfounded  surmise  did  not  make  much  of  an 
impression  after  a  study  of  all  the  circumstances  and 
talks  with  the  "  oldest  inhabitants,"  to  whom  tradi 
tions  of  a  former  age  are  handed  down.  The  French 
have  a  profound  respect  for  the  dead  and  the  sacred- 
ness  of  places  of  burial;  the  humblest  citizen  un 
covers  reverently  when  a  funeral  passes;  graves  are 
tenderly  cared  for  and  kept  decked  with  -flowers,  and 
their  desecration  is  a  rare  crime. 

At  the  time  of  the  Revolution  there  were  statues 
and  busts  of  lead  in  exposed  places  and  extensive 
lead  piping  to  carry  the  water  from  the  Seine  to  Ver 
sailles,  etc.,  none  of  which  were  disturbed.  More 
over,  the  metal  contained  in  the  few  leaden  coffins 
to  be  found  at  that  date  in  a  Paris  cemetery  would 
not  have  paid  the  digging  or  furnished  bullets  for 
a  single  battalion. 

If  the  admiral  had  been  buried  in  a  wooden  coffin 
hardly  a  vestige  of  it  would  have  been  in  existence 
and  only  the  mere  skeleton  of  the  body  would  have 
been  found.  Fortunately,  however,  the  authentic  let 
ter  written  to  Mrs.  Janet  Taylor,  Paul  Jones's  eldest 
sister,  by  Colonel  Blackden,  and  hereinbefore  quoted, 
contained  the  following  valuable  information :  "  His 
body  was  put  into  a  leaden  coffin  on  the  20th, 

77 


that,  in  case  the  United  States,  which  he  had  so  es 
sentially  served,  and  with  so  much  honor,  should 
claim  his  remains  they  might  be  more  easily  re 
moved."  The  bill  of  462  francs  paid  by  M.  Simon- 
neau  for  the  funeral  expenses  was  corroborative  of 
this  fact,  inasmuch  as  the  cost  of  an  ordinary  funeral 
in  those  days,  as  ascertained  from  the  records,  was 
128  francs,  while  that  of  a  hospital  patient  cost  as 
little  as  89  francs,  distributed  as  follows:  Coffin  10 
francs,  choristers  10,  sexton  15,  commissary  48,  his 
clerk  6.  The  payment  therefor  of  462  francs,  more 
than  three  times  the  value  of  that  sum  at  the  present 
day,  would  have  provided  for  an  unusually  large  ex 
penditure  and  would  have  amply  covered  the  cost 
of  a  substantial  leaden  coffin,  a  thorough  preparation 
of  the  body  to  insure  its  preservation,  and  an  elabo 
rate  system  of  packing,  with  a  view  to  its  transporta 
tion  by  sea. 

There  had  now  been  fully  established  by  authentic 
documents  and  convincing  corroborative  evidence  the 
fact  that  the  Saint  Louis  cemetery  was  the  actual 
burial-place  of  Paul  Jones,  that  he  had  been  buried 
in  a  leaden  coffin,  that  the  body  had  been  prepared 
for  transportation  to  the  United  States,  that  the  coffin 
had  never  been  removed  by  legitimate  means,  and 
that  there  was  no  probability  that  it  had  been  carried 
away  by  stealth  or  had  been  stolen. 

After  having  studied  the  manner  and  place  of  his 
burial  and  contemplated  the  circumstances  connected 
with  the  strange  neglect  of  his  grave,  one  could  not 

78 


help  feeling  pained  beyond  expression  and  overcome 
by  a  sense  of  profound  mortification.  Here  was  pre 
sented  the  spectacle  of  a  hero  whose  fame  once  cov 
ered  two  continents  and  whose  name  is  still  an 
inspiration  to  a  world-famed  navy,  lying  for  more 
than  a  century  in  a  forgotten  grave  like  an  obscure 
outcast,  relegated  to  oblivion  in  a  squalid  quarter 
of  a  distant  foreign  city,  buried  in  ground  once  con 
secrated,  but  since  desecrated  by  having  been  used 
at  times  as  a  garden,  with  the  moldering  bodies  of 
the  dead  fertilizing  its  market  vegetables,  by  having 
been  covered  later  by  a  common  dump  pile,  where 
dogs  and  horses  had  been  buried,  and  the  soil  was 
still  soaked  with  polluted  waters  from  undrained 
laundries;  and  as  a  culmination  of  degradation,  by 
having  been  occupied  by  a  contractor  for  removing 
night-soil. 

It  recalls  the  remark  once  made  by  a  gallant  naval 
officer:  "When  we  give  up  our  lives  in  the  service 
of  our  country  we  do  not  ask  that  our  graves  be  kept 
green,  but  we  should  like  to  have  them  kept  clean." 

Having  collected  all  the  facts  necessary  to  justify 
an  immediate  attempt  to  remove  the  remains  from 
such  offensive  surroundings  and  secure  for  them  ap 
propriate  sepulcher  in  America,  I  was  about  to  open 
negotiations  quietly  with  the  proprietors  and  tenants 
who  occupied  the  property  with  a  view  to  purchas 
ing  the  right  to  enter  upon  the  premises  and  make 
the  necessary  excavations  in  order  to  explore  thor 
oughly  the  cemetery,  when  unfortunately  the  news  of 

79 


this  intention  became  publicly  known  through  the 
indiscretion  of  persons  who  had  been  consulted  on 
the  subject.  Self-constituted  agents  immediately  be 
gan  to  busy  themselves  with  circulating  fantastic 
stories  regarding  the  fabulous  prices  that  were  to 
be  paid  for  the  property,  the  whole  of  which  it  was 
said  was  going  to  be  bought  by  a  rich  government, 
at  any  cost,  as  the  only  means  of  getting  access  to 
the  cemetery  and  making  the  excavations  necessary 
to  find  the  body  of  its  great  admiral.  Such  represen 
tations  naturally  created  intense  excitement,  raised 
false  hopes  in  the  minds  of  those  interested  in  the 
property,  and  rendered  negotiations  on  a  practicable 
basis  entirely  impossible.  This  was  altogether  the 
most  discouraging  episode  in  the  history  of  the  un 
dertaking. 

There  was  then  but  one  course  to  pursue,  however 
reluctantly,  which  was  to  drop  the  matter  entirely  for 
a  couple  of  years  in  order  to  let  the  excitement  sub 
side. 

At  the  end  of  that  time  negotiations  were  quietly 
opened  upon  the  basis  of  purchasing  the  right  to 
explore  the  abandoned  cemetery  by  means  of  sub 
terranean  galleries,  provided  that  all  damages  to 
houses  should  be  repaired,  any  victims  of  disease 
caused  by  foul  emanations  from  the  disturbed  soil 
indemnified,  and  the  property  restored  to  its  former 
condition.  After  a  series  of  prolonged  and  tedious 
negotiations,  appeals  to  the  public  spirit  of  the  occu 
pants  of  the  property  and  an  assurance  that  the  gov- 

80 


ernment  had  made  no  appropriation  or  taken  any 
action  in  the  matter,  and  that  the  work  was  simply 
an  individual  undertaking,  I  at  last  succeeded  in  pro 
curing  options  in  writing  from  all  concerned  grant 
ing  the  right  for  three  months  to  enter  upon  the 
premises  and  make  the  necessary  excavations. 

President  Roosevelt,  whose  patriotic  sentiments 
are  among  his  strongest  characteristics,  upon  learn 
ing  of  the  undertaking,  had  asked  for  information 
regarding  it,  and  upon  receiving  my  reply  giving  an 
account  of  the  project,  sent  an  urgent  message  to 
Congress  in  February,  1905,  recommending  an  ap 
propriation  of  $35,000,  for  carrying  out  the  work.  It 
was  late  in  the  short  session  and  no  action  was  taken. 
It  would  not  have  been  altogether  unnatural,  how 
ever,  to  regard  the  scheme  as  too  Utopian  in  its  na 
ture  to  receive  serious  consideration,  the  remains  of 
the  admiral  having  been  long  since  relegated  to  the 
realms  of  mystery  and  given  up  as  lost  beyond  re 
covery. 

As  no  promise  could  be  secured  as  to  how  long  the 
options  obtained  would  be  allowed  to  hold  good,  and 
as  it  was  quite  sure  that  if  they  lapsed  they  could 
never  be  renewed  upon  any  such  terms,  if  at  all,  on 
account  of  changes  among  the  tenants,  the  adverse 
disposition  of  some  of  the  occupants,  the  publicity 
which  had  now  been  given  the  matter,  etc.,  I  deemed 
it  a  duty  to  pay  at  once  the  sums  demanded  in  ad 
vance  to  bind  the  options,  and  to  proceed  with  the 
work. 

81 


The  Prefect  of  the  Seine  kindly  permitted  M.  Paul 
Weiss  of  the  service  of  the  carrieres  (quarries)  of 
the  city  of  Paris  to  direct  the  work,  which  was  begun 
on  Friday,  February  3,  1905.  This  experienced  and 
accomplished  mining  engineer  displayed  a  profes 
sional  skill  of  the  very  highest  order,  and  by  his 
ability,  zeal,  and  devotion  to  the  work  greatly  facili 
tated  the  task.  The  project  presented  serious  diffi 
culties  from  the  fact  that  the  filling  of  earth  above 
the  cemetery  was  composed  of  the  dumpings  of  loose 
soil  not  compact  enough  to  stand  alone,  and  the  shafts 
and  galleries  had  to  be  solidly  lined  and  shored  up 
with  heavy  timbers  as  the  excavations  proceeded. 
The  drainage  was  bad  in  places  and  there  was 
trouble  from  the  water.  The  walls  of  one  of  the 
buildings  were  considerably  damaged.  Slime,  mud, 
and  mephitic  odors  were  encountered,  and  long  red 
worms  appeared  in  abundance. 

The  first  shaft  (marked  A  in  the  plan  here  in 
serted)  was  opened  in  one  of  the  yards  to  a  depth  of 
eighteen  feet.  It  proved  clearly  that  the  dead  had 
never  been  disturbed.  This  fact  was  most  satisfac 
tory  as  disproving  the  predictions  so  often  made  to 
the  contrary.  The  skeletons  were  found  lying  about 
a  foot  apart,  generally  in  two  layers,  one  above  the 
other,  and  in  some  places  there  were  three.  This  was 
a  verification  of  the  report  of  Citizen  Richer,  herein 
before  mentioned,  saying  that  the  dead  were  buried 
in  a  fosse  (trench),  which  indicated  that  they  were 
not  interred  in  separate  graves  and  were  of  a  poor 

82 


Court  yard 

of  Grain 
Merchants 


CJ  Shaft 
RUE    GRANGE    AOX    BELLES 

PLAN  OF  THE  SHAFTS  SUNK  AND  GALLERIES  EXCAVATED  IN  THE  SEARCH 
FOR   THE  BODY  OF   PAUL  JONES 

The  shafts  are  indicated  by  letters  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  sunk :  the  galleries  excavated  are  indicated  by  cross-tim 
bering ;  the  rays  from  the  ends  of  some  of  the  galleries  denote  soundings  for  leaden  coffins  with  iron  bars,  but  the  soundings 
are  not  all  indicated,  since  they  were  made  from  the  ends  and  sides  of  all  the  galleries ;  all  the  leaden  coffins  are  indicated  by 
numerals  in  the  order  of  finding  them,  the  coffin  of  Paul  Jones  being  No.  3,  but  during  the  time  occupied  in  the  identification 
of  the  body  4  and  5  were  discovered.  The  dimensions  of  the  cemetery  walls  are  approximately  120  by  130  feet. 


class.  This  led  to  the  conclusion  that  there  would 
be  very  few  leaden  coffins  found,  as  they  could  be 
afforded  only  by  persons  in  easy  circumstances.  But 
few  vestiges  were  left  of  the  wooden  coffins. 

Two  more  large  shafts  were  sunk  in  the  yards,  and 
two  in  the  Rue  Grange-aux-Belles,  making  five  in  all. 
Day  and  night  gangs  of  workmen  were  employed, 
and  active  progress  was  made.  Galleries  were  pushed 
in  every  direction,  and  "  soundings  "  were  made  be 
tween  them  with  long  iron  tools  adapted  to  this  pur 
pose,  so  that  no  leaden  coffin  could  possibly  be  missed. 

The  first  of  the  four  squares  explored  was  the  one 
on  the  right  of  the  original  entrance  to  the  cemetery. 
Here  the  excavators  encountered  a  mass  of  skeletons 
in  three  layers  superposed.  They  were  placed  irregu 
larly,  some  lying  face  down  and  others  on  their  sides, 
in  one  layer  piled  lengthwise  and  in  the  one  above 
crosswise,  just  as  one  would  pile  cord-wood,  the 
bodies  being  so  close  together  that  they  could  not 
have  been  buried  in  coffins.  No  explanation  of  the 
peculiar  condition  of  things  in  this  portion  of  the 
cemetery  suggested  itself  until  one  day  I  came  across 
a  copy  of  a  drawing  by  Bericourt  representing  the 
corpses  of  the  Swiss  Guard  killed  in  defending  the 
Tuileries,  being  hurriedly  thrown  into  carts  to  be 
hauled  away  for  burial.  As  it  is  known  that  most 
of  them  were  Protestants,  it  is  altogether  likely  that 
they  were  interred  in  the  Saint  Louis  cemetery  in 
the  confused  manner  indicated  by  the  position  of  the 
skeletons  found  there.  This  slaughter  occurred  Au- 

83 


gust  10,  1792,  twenty-one  days  after  Paul  Jones's 
burial.  If  the  above  inference  be  correct,  it  furnishes 
another  proof  that  although  the  cemetery  was  closed 
soon  after  his  death  there  was  plenty  of  room  left 
for  his  coffin  at  the  time  of  his  burial,  for  the  reason 
that  so  many  bodies  were  interred  there  afterward. 

I  had  given  orders  that  if  not  present  when  a  leaden 
coffin  was  discovered  I  should  be  sent  for  at  once, 
as  I  was  desirous  of  superintending  personally  the 
search  for  an  inscription  plate  and  any  other  indi 
cations  that  might  aid  in  the  identification. 

On  February  22  the  first  leaden  coffin  was  dis 
covered.  The  round  projecting  end  containing  the 
head  had  been  broken  off  and  the  skull  was  detached 
from  the  body.  The  remains  of  a  water-barrel  were 
found  near  by.  As  the  cemetery,  after  being  closed, 
had  been  used  as  a  market-garden,  the  barrel  had 
evidently  been  sunk  in  this  spot  to  catch  the  water 
drained  from  the  courtyard,  and  in  excavating  for 
it  the  head  of  the  coffin  had  been  knocked  off.  The 
outer  wooden  coffin  had  nearly  disappeared  and  the 
inscription  plate  it  bore  had  fallen  on  the  lid  of  the 
leaden  coffin.  This  plate  was  of  copper  and  had 
become  so  brittle  that  when  lifted  it  broke  and  a 
portion  of  it  crumbled  to  pieces.  It  was  so  corroded 
and  incrusted  that  no  portion  of  the  inscription  could 
be  read.  Handling  it  with  great  care,  I  proceeded 
with  it  in  person  to  Messrs.  Andre  &  Son,  the 
well-known  decipherers  and  restorers  of  ancient 
enamels  and  art  objects,  who  promised  to  apply 
84 


all  their  skill  to  the  task  of  reading  it  and  report  the 
next  day. 

In  thinking  over  all  the  contingencies  which  might 
occur,  the  rather  far-fetched  idea  suggested  itself  that 
there  was  a  bare  possibility  that,  as  the  news  of  this 
discovery  had  leaked  out,  some  miscreant  might  take 
it  for  granted  that  the  coffin  contained  the  body  of 
Paul  Jones  and  steal  it.  So  a  message  was  sent  to 
the  Prefect  of  Police,  who  had  been  exceedingly  kind 
in  doing  everything  in  his  power  to  facilitate  the 
work,  requesting  that  two  policemen  be  placed  on 
duty  on  the  premises.  Late  in  the  evening  I  learned 
that,  owing  to  his  absence  from  his  office  and  an 
error  in  getting  the  communication  to  him,  there 
would  be  no  guard  there  that  night.  I  could  not 
help  feeling  some  forebodings,  and  my  state  of  mind 
may  be  imagined  upon  receiving  a  brief  note  early 
the  next  morning  from  an  official  saying  he  regretted 
to  inform  me  that  there  had  unfortunately  been  a 
depredation  committed  in  the  gallery  where  the 
leaden  coffin  was  found.  I  felt  like  a  person  who  had 
delayed  a  day  too  long  in  insuring  his  property  and 
learned  that  it  had  taken  fire.  Upon  arriving  in 
all  haste  on  the  premises  it  was  found  that  the  "  dep 
redation  "  had  been  caused  by  an  enterprising  re 
porter  and  photographer,  who  had  succeeded  in  open 
ing  the  gate,  getting  into  the  yard,  and  entering  the 
gallery.  In  the  darkness  they  had  stumbled  and 
broken  their  apparatus,  and  in  trying  to  use  one  which 
our  men  had  left  in  the  gallery  had  broken  it  also,  and 

85 


some  of  the  pieces  were  missing.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  say  that  a  double  guard  was  thereafter  kept  on 
duty  day  and  night  while  the  work  continued. 

By  the  next  day  the  Messrs.  Andre  had  cleansed 
the  coffin-plate  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  read  dis 
tinctly  the  following  portion  of  the  inscription:  .  .  . 
"ME  Anglois,  20  de  May  1790  Ans."  The  French 
word  Mai  was  spelled  in  old  style  with  a  y.  No 
further  attention  was  therefore  paid  to  this  coffin, 
and  the  search  which  had  not  been  interrupted  con 
tinued. 

A  reporter  with  a  lively  imagination  could  not  wait 
for  the  deciphering  of  the  plate  and  meanwhile  in 
vented  a  highly  dramatic  story  and  gave  it  to  the 
press,  stating  that  there  was  such  certainty  enter 
tained  that  this  leaden  coffin  contained  the  body  of 
Paul  Jones  that  I  had  summoned  the  personnel  of 
the  embassy  and  others  to  the  scene,  including  the 
Commissary  of  Police,  who  attended  ornamented 
with  his  tricolored  scarf;  that  the  coffin  was  opened 
with  great  ceremony  and  solemnity,  and  the  group, 
deeply  affected,  stood  reverently,  with  bowed  heads, 
awaiting  the  recognition  of  the  body  of  the  illustri 
ous  sailor,  but  that  it  was  evident  that  a  serious  error 
had  been  made,  and  that,  to  the  sad  disappointment 
of  all  present,  it  had  to  be  acknowledged  that  the 
body  bore  no  traces  of  being  that  of  the  admiral. 
This  pure  fabrication  was  copied  in  America  and 
France,  and  in  some  quarters  commented  upon  in 
a  manner  to  give  the  impression  that  the  projector 

86 


of  the  exploration  was  simply  guessing  as  to  the 
identity  of  the  object  of  the  search. 

On  March  23  a  second  leaden  coffin  was  discovered, 
with  a  plate  easily  read,  bearing  the  words  "  Richard 
Hay,  Esq.,  died  in  Paris  the  29th  January  1785." 

On  March  31  a  third  leaden  coffin  was  unearthed. 
This,  like  the  others,  was  of  a  shape  resembling  that 
of  the  mummy  coffins,  a  form  quite  common  then, 
gradually  widening  from  the  feet  to  the  shoulders, 
with  a  round  projection  at  the  upper  end,  which  con 
tained  the  head.  It  was  much  superior  in  solidity 
and  workmanship  to  the  others.  A  thorough  search 
was  made  in  the  vicinity,  but  no  inscription  plate 
could  be  found.  Two  theories  suggested  themselves 
to  account  for  its  absence.  A  corpse  had  been  buried 
immediately  on  top  of  the  leaden  coffin,  the  middle 
of  the  lid  of  which  had  been  pierced  as  if  by  a  pick. 
Surrounding  the  leaden  coffin  were  some  vestiges  of 
a  coffin  of  wood.  It  may  be  that  the  digger  of  the 
upper  grave,  finding  that  his  pick  had  struck  a  hard 
substance,  had  applied  his  shovel,  and  in  removing 
the  decayed  remains  of  the  wooden  coffin  found  a 
plate  and  carried  it  off  as  a  relic,  or,  if  of  silver,  for 
its  intrinsic  value.  Or,  as  the  death  of  Paul  Jones 
occurred  when  the  violence  of  the  French  Revolution 
was  at  its  height  and  the  streets  were  filled  with  idlers 
and  excited  crowds,  it  is  likely  that  no  engravers 
could  be  found  at  work  to  prepare  a  fitting  inscrip 
tion  in  the  two  days  intervening  between  the  death 
and  burial.  The  latter  theory  seems  rather  more 
87 


plausible.  It  was  decided  to  open  this  coffin,  but 
as  the  odors  were  so  disagreeable  in  the  unventilated 
gallery  the  examination  was  postponed  until  a  con 
nection  could  be  made  with  another  gallery,  so  as 
to  admit  a  current  of  air. 

On  April  7  the  coffin  was  opened  in  presence  of 
Colonel  Blanchard,  M.  Weiss,  M.  Geninet,  superin 
tendent  of  the  work,  the  foreman,  several  workmen, 
and  myself.  The  lid  was  so  firmly  soldered  that  it 
was  removed  with  some  difficulty.  There  was  a 
strong  alcoholic  odor,  but  the  alcohol  in  which  the 
body  had  evidently  been  preserved  had  nearly  all 
evaporated,  doubtless  through  the  hole  made  in  the 
lid  by  the  pick  and  a  crack  in  the  edge  of  the  coffin 
near  the  foot  caused  by  the  pressure  of  the  earth 
after  the  wooden  coffin  had  rotted  away.  However, 
the  earth  which  covered  these  holes  was  hard  and 
black,  having  evidently  become  indurated  by  the  ac 
tion  of  the  escaping  alcohol,  so  that  the  process  of 
evaporation  had  doubtless  been  exceedingly  slow. 
The  body  was  covered  with  a  winding-sheet  and 
firmly  packed  with  hay  and  straw.  A  rough  measure 
ment  indicated  the  height  of  Paul  Jones.  Those  en 
gaged  upon  the  work  had  been  furnished  some  time 
before  with  copies  of  the  admiral's  Congressional 
medal  showing  his  bust  in  profile.  Half  a  dozen 
candles  were  placed  near  the  head  of  the  coffin,  and 
the  winding-sheet  was  removed  from  the  head  and 
chest,  exposing  the  face.  To  our  intense  surprise,  the 
body  was  marvelously  well  preserved,  all  the  flesh 

88 


remaining  intact,  but  slightly  shrunken  and  of  a  gray 
ish  brown  or  tan  color.  The  surface  of  the  body 
and  the  linen  were  moist.  The  face  presented  quite 
a  natural  appearance,  except  that  the  cartilaginous 
portion  of  the  nose  had  been  bent  over  toward  the 
right  side,  pressed  down,  and  completely  disfigured 
by  its  too  close  proximity  to  the  lid  of  the  coffin. 
Upon  placing  the  medal  near  the  face,  comparing  the 
other  features  and  recognizing  the  peculiar  charac 
teristics — the  broad  forehead,  high  cheek  bones, 
prominently  arched  eye  orbits,  and  other  points  of 
resemblance,  we  immediately  exclaimed,  "  Paul 
Jones  " ;  and  all  those  who  had  gathered  about  the 
coffin  removed  their  hats,  feeling  that  there  was 
every  probability  that  they  were  standing  in  the 
presence  of  the  illustrious  dead — the  object  of  the 
long  search. 

For  the  purpose  of  submitting  the  body  to  a  thor 
ough  scientific  examination  by  competent  experts  for 
the  purpose  of  complete  identification,  it  was  taken 
quietly  at  night,  on  April  8,  to  the  Paris  School  of 
Medicine  (Ecole  de  Medecine)  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  well-known  professors  of  anthropology, 
Dr.  Capitan  and  Dr.  Papillault  and  their  associates, 
who  had  been  highly  recommended  as  the  most  ac 
complished  scientists  and  most  experienced  experts 
who  could  be  selected  for  a  service  of  this  kind.  I, 
of  course,  knew  these  professors  by  reputation,  but 
I  had  never  met  them. 

While  the  professional  examinations  for  identify- 
89 


ing  the  body  were  taking  place,  directions  were  given 
to  let  the  workmen  continue  the  excavations  in  order 
to  explore  some  portions  of  the  cemetery  that  had 
not  yet  been  reached.  On  April  1 1  a  fourth  leaden 
coffin  was  found  with  a  plate  bearing  the  inscription : 
"  Cygit  Georges  Maidison,  Gentilhomme  Anglais  et 
Secretaire  de  1'Ambassade  de  Sa  Majeste  britannique 
aupres  de  Sa  Majeste  tres  Chretienne — decede  a 
Paris  le  27  Aout  1783— age  de  36  ans." 

On  April  18  the  fifth  and  last  leaden  coffin  was 
discovered.  It  was  without  an  inscription  plate  and 
of  unusual  length.  Upon  opening  it  there  was  found 
the  skeleton  of  a  man  considerably  over  six  feet  in 
height. 

In  excavating  the  cemetery,  the  exploration  had  cor 
roborated  the  facts  inferred  from  the  hereinbefore- 
mentioned  report  indicating  that  the  main  body  of  the 
four  squares  divided  by  the  cross-walks  had  been 
reserved  for  burying  the  ordinary  dead  in  common 
trenches,  and  that  personages  important  enough  to 
be  placed  in  leaden  coffins  were  buried  in  separate 
graves  near  one  of  the  walls.  The  admiral's  coffin 
was  found  in  one  of  such  spots. 

All  the  coffins  except  the  one  containing  the  re 
mains  of  the  admiral  were  left  undisturbed  in  the 
places  where  they  had  been  discovered,  and  the 
shafts  and  galleries  were  refilled  and  the  property 
restored.  There  had  been  excavated  80  feet  in  length 
of  shafts,  800  feet  of  galleries,  and  about  600  feet 
of  soundings.  The  excavated  earth  had  to  be  carted 
90 


to  a  distance  of  two  miles  to  find  a  dumping-ground 
and  afterward  hauled  back.  In  refilling  the  galleries 
it  was  necessary  in  places  to  use  stones  and  blocks  of 
indurated  clay  to  give  proper  stability. 

There  were  discovered  in  all  five  leaden  coffins  in 
the  cemetery.  Four  having  been  easily  identified, 
reasoning  upon  the  principle  of  elimination  led  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  other  must  be  the  coffin  sought. 
However,  the  scientists  were  identifying  the  body  by 
more  positive  means. 

When  the  remains  arrived  at  the  School  of  Medi 
cine,  the  lid  of  the  coffin,  which  had  been  replaced 
and  the  edges  of  which  had  been  sealed  with  a  coat 
ing  of  plaster,  was  again  removed,  and  the  hay  and 
straw  surrounding  the  body  were  taken  out.  They 
were  so  firmly  packed,  evidently  to  prevent  injury 
to  the  body  from  shocks  caused  by  the  rolling  of  the 
ship  upon  the  contemplated  transfer  by  sea,  that  in 
removing  them  pincers  had  to  be  used.  It  was  no 
ticed  that  there  had  been  a  hole  three  quarters  of 
an  inch  in  diameter  in  the  lid  of  the  coffin  just  over 
the  face,  and  that  it  had  been  closed  by  a  screw  and 
soldered  over.  It  is  supposed  that  the  alcohol  used 
to  preserve  the  remains  had  been  poured  in  through 
this  aperture.  This  immersion  in  alcohol  was  doubt 
less  another  reason  why  no  uniform  or  object  of 
value  was  placed  in  the  coffin. 

In  order  not  to  disturb  the  body  or  change  in  any 
way  its  position  in  removing  it  from  the  coffin,  a 
vertical  cut  was  made  in  the  lead  at  each  end  which 

91 


enabled  the  sides  to  be  pressed  apart.  The  body 
was  then  carefully  placed  upon  a  large  dissecting- 
table.  Its  state  of  preservation  was  such  that  it  bore 
its  own  weight  in  handling  it.  The  remains  looked 
like  the  anatomical  specimens  preserved  in  jars  of 
alcohol,  such  as  one  sees  in  medical  museums.  It 
was  learned  that  a  century  ago  this  method  of  pre 
serving  the  dead  was  frequently  employed — that  the 
bodies  of  Necker  and  his  wife,  buried  at  Coppet,  in 
Switzerland,  for  instance,  were  so  treated,  and  are 
still  perfectly  preserved. 

The  joints  were  somewhat  flexible.  In  taking  the 
right  hand  in  mine  I  found  that  the  knuckle-joints 
could  be  easily  bent. 

There  now  took  place  one  of  the  most  scientific, 
painstaking,  and  conscientious  examinations  con 
ceivable  for  the  purpose  of  verifying  beyond  all 
doubt  the  identification  of  the  body  submitted  for  this 
purpose. 

The  official  and  professional  responsibility  of  those 
engaged  in  the  task,  their  disinterestedness,  and  the 
fact  that  their  established  reputations  were  at  stake, 
gave  abundant  guarantee  that  the  labor  would  be 
faithfully  and  impartially  performed.  Twelve  Ameri 
can  or  French  persons  officially  took  part  in  or  wit 
nessed  the  work  of  identification,  and  their  affirma 
tive  verdict,  after  six  days  passed  in  the  application  of 
every  possible  test,  was  positive  and  unanimous,  and 
was  formally  certified  to  under  the  official  seals  of 

92 


their  respective  departments,  as  will  be  seen  from 
their  reports  printed  in  the  appendix. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  persons  who 
participated  in  the  verification : 

The  American  Ambassador;  Henry  Vignaud,  First 
Secretary  of  the  American  Embassy,  Commander 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor;  John  K.  Gowdy,  Ameri 
can  Consul-General ;  Colonel  A.  Bailly-Blanchard, 
Second  Secretary  of  the  American  Embassy,  ex- 
Aide-de-Camp  to  the  Governor  of  Louisiana,  Offi 
cer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  Officer  of  Public 
Instruction. 

M.  Justin  de  Selves,  Prefect  of  the  Seine,  Grand 
Officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 

M.  Louis  Lepine,  Prefect  of  Police,  ex-Governor- 
General  of  Algiers,  Grand  Officer  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor. 

Dr.  J.  Capitan,  Professor  in  the  School  of  Anthro 
pology,  Member  of  the  Committee  of  Historic  and 
Scientific  Works  (Ministry  of  Public  Instruction), 
Member  of  the  Municipal  Commission  of  Old  Paris, 
Member  of  the  Society  of  Megalithic  Monuments, 
ex-President  of  the  Society  of  Anthropology  of  Paris, 
Officer  of  Public  Instruction,  etc. 

Dr.  G.  Papillault,  Assistant  Director  of  the  Labora 
tory  of  Anthropology  in  the  School  for  Advanced 
Studies,  Professor  in  the  School  of  Anthropology,  etc. 
A  scientist  of  rare  experience  in  the  examination  and 
identification  of  human  bodies. 

93 


Dr.  George  Herve,  Professor  in  the  School  of  An 
thropology. 

Dr.  A.  Javal,  Physician  to  the  Ministry  of  Public 
Instruction,  Laureate  of  the  School  of  Medicine. 

M.  J.  Pray,  Chief  Architect  of  the  Prefecture  of 
Police,  Officer  of  Public  Instruction. 

M.  Paul  Weiss,  Engineer  of  the  Quarries  of  the 
Seine,  Doctor  of  Laws. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  services  were  secured 
of  Dr.  V.  Cornil,  the  eminent  microscopist,  Professor 
of  Pathologic  Anatomy  of  the  Paris  Faculty  of  Medi 
cine. 

The  above  scientists  were  not  employed  experts; 
they  cheerfully  gave  their  services  gratuitously, 
purely  in  the  interest  of  science,  and  as  an  act  of 
comity  between  two  friendly  nations  in  solving  an 
important  historical  problem. 

The  remains  had  been  wrapped  in  a  winding-sheet 
of  linen,  the  ends  of  which  had  been  torn  off,  prob 
ably  to  make  it  fit  the  length  of  the  body.  On  this 
was  observed  a  small  figure  2  worked  in  thread. 
Upon  the  removal  of  the  sheet  there  was  found  upon 
the  body  but  one  garment,  a  linen  shirt  of  fine  work 
manship  with  plaits  and  ruffles.  This  bore  no  initial 
or  mark.  The  long  hair,  measuring  about  thirty 
inches  in  length,  had  been  carefully  dressed  and 
gathered  into  a  linen  cap  at  the  back  of  the  head. 
On  this  was  found  a  small  initial  worked  in  thread. 
When  the  cap  was  right  side  up  the  letter  was  a  "  J," 
with  the  loop  well  rounded;  when  reversed,  it  formed 

94 


a  "  P."  A  careful  search  disclosed  no  other  article 
in  the  coffin.  On  the  hands,  feet,  and  legs  were 
found  portions  of  tinfoil,  as  if  they  had  been  wrapped 
in  it. 

Two  circumstances  combined  to  render  the  iden 
tification  of  the  remains  comparatively  easy:  the  re 
markable  state  of  preservation  of  the  body  and  the 
abundance  of  accurate  information  in  existence  de 
scriptive  of  the  dead. 

To  furnish  the  anthropologists  with  the  required 
data,  there  was  obtained  upon  personal  application 
permission  to  make  all  the  desired  measurements  of 
the  Houdon  bust  of  Paul  Jones,  a  little  more  than 
three-quarter  size,  owned  by  the  Marquis  de  Biron, 
a  very  artistic  work  representing  the  admiral  in  court 
dress  with  the  hair  curled  in  rolls  upon  the  temples. 
These  rolls  were  identical  with  those  found  on  the 
body. 

There  was  procured  through  the  courtesy  of  the 
director  of  the  Trocadero  Museum  a  copy  of  the 
other  well-known  bust  of  Paul  Jones  by  Houdon,  one 
of  the  most  accurate  works  of  the  famous  sculptor, 
who  was  also  an  admirer  of  his  subject.  It  represents 
Paul  Jones  in  the  uniform  of  an  admiral,  and  was 
found  more  useful  for  the  purpose  of  making  the 
comparative  measurements  on  account  of  its  being 
life-size.  James  Madison,  in  a  letter  dated  April  28, 
1825,  says:  "His  bust  by  Houdon  is  an  exact  like 
ness,  portraying  well  the  characteristic  features."  Be 
sides  this  there  were  submitted  a  copy  of  the  medal 
95 


given  by  Congress,  showing  a  profile  of  the  face,  and 
a  mass  of  authentic  information  regarding  the  ad 
miral's  chief  characteristics,  appearance,  size,  color 
of  hair,  age,  etc. 

Dr.  Papillault,  with  his  delicate  instruments,  made 
all  the  necessary  anthropometric  measurements  of 
the  head,  features,  length  of  body,  etc.,  and  found 
them  so  remarkably  exact  as  to  be  convinced  that 
the  busts  were  made  from  the  subject  before  him, 
and  that  the  length  of  the  body,  five  feet  seven  inches, 
was  the  same  as  the  height  of  the  admiral.  All  of 
the  comparative  measurements  are  set  forth  in  de 
tail  in  his  report;  the  greatest  difference  between 
any  of  them  being  only  two  millimeters,  about  seven 
hundredths  of  an  inch. 

As  said  before,  the  cartilaginous  portion  of  the  nose 
had  been  bent  over  to  the  right  side,  pressed  down, 
and  entirely  distorted.  This  disfigurement  was 
clearly  due  to  the  fact  that  when  the  body  was  put 
in  the  coffin  an  excess  of  the  hay  and  straw  packing 
had  been  placed  under  the  head  and  across  the  face, 
and  the  mass  of  hair,  about  thirty  inches  in  length, 
had  been  gathered  into  the  linen  cap  at  the  back. 
This  raised  the  face  so  high  that  the  nose  was  pressed 
upon  by  the  coffin  lid.  This  pressure  had  been  so 
great  that  the  head  itself  was  found  turned  a  little 
to  the  right. 

Professor  Papillault  says  on  this  subject:  "The 
bridge  of  the  nose  is  rather  thin;  the  root  somewhat 


narrow.  Seen  in  profile,  the  nose  is  of  an  undulating 
form  on  the  bust;  now  this  form  depends  a  great  deal 
on  the  cartilage.  The  bony  part  of  the  nose  is  quite 
compatible  with  it."  The  professional  anthropolo 
gists  pay  little  attention  to  the  cartilages,  as  these  are 
liable  to  change,  and  confine  their  measurements  to 
the  solid  or  bony  structures. 

Professor  Capitan,  after  the  examinations,  had  a 
photograph  made  of  the  head,  but  at  the  angle  at 
which  it  was  taken  the  disfigured  nose  is  made  to  look 
as  if  it  were  Roman  in  shape,  the  end  being  bent  over 
and  depressed,  and  in  consequence  giving  the  bridge 
an  unnatural  prominence. 

The  expression  of  the  face  is  not  nearly  so  good 
as  if  the  photograph  had  been  taken  immediately 
after  opening  the  coffin.  The  skin  had  shrunk  and 
the  lips  had  contracted  by  exposure  to  the  air,  and 
show  the  edges  of  the  teeth,  which  were  not  visible 
at  first.  This  gives  the  face  a  rather  ghastly  appear 
ance. 

The  hair,  which  was  found  neatly  dressed,  is 
in  disorder  and  could  not  be  rearranged,  as  an  at 
tempt  to  comb  it  revealed  a  danger  of  pulling  it 
out.  The  nose  presented  the  only  positive  disfigure 
ment.  When  the  bust  was  placed  beside  the  body, 
the  resemblance  of  the  other  features  was  remarkably 
striking. 

Professor  Herve  called  attention  to  a  pecu 
liar  shape  of  the  lobe  of  the  ear,  which  he  said 
97 


was,  according  to  his  experience,  something  very 
rarely  seen.  Its  exact  copy  was  observed  upon  the 
bust. 

Dr.  Papillault,  in  his  report  setting  forth  the  de 
tails  of  his  investigations,  remarks: 

The  dimensions  of  the  bust,  life-size,  by  Houdon 
are  exactly  those  of  the  body;  the  comparison  is 
therefore  easier  than  if  the  bust  had  been  of  a  re 
duced  size.  Thus  all  the  measurements  offer  an  ap 
proximation  truly  extraordinary.  Two  experienced 
anthropologists  measuring  the  same  subject  would 
often  make  as  great  differences.  Thus  I  could  not 
hope  to  find  between  a  bust  and  its  model  a  similar 
identity.  I  recollect  having  measured  some  years  ago 
a  cast  of  the  head  of  Blanqui  and  the  statue  which 
Dalon  made  from  that  same  cast.  Dalon  was  a  very 
precise  and  conscientious  artist,  using  and  even  abus 
ing,  as  his  colleagues  said,  the  caliper-compass.  I 
found  differences  greater  than  in  this  case. 

He  concludes  his  report  in  the  following  words : 

Without  forgetting  that  doubt  is  the  first  quality 
of  all  investigators  and  that  the  most  extreme  cir 
cumspection  should  be  observed  in  such  matters,  I 
am  obliged  to  conclude  that  all  the  observations  which 
I  have  been  able  to  make  plead  in  favor  of  the  fol 
lowing  opinion:  The  body  examined  is  that  of  Ad 
miral  John  Paul  Jones. 

Then  came  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of 
the  verification — the  autopsy,  doubtless  the  only  one 
in  history  ever  made  upon  a  body  that  had  been  buried 
for  a  hundred  and  thirteen  years.  In  order  not  to 

98 


alter  in  any  way  the  appearance  of  the  corpse,  Dr. 
Capitan  and  his  assistants  laid  the  body  upon  its 
face  and  made  the  opening  in  the  back  to  explore  the 
thorax  and  the  viscera  contained  therein.  A  quantity 
of  alcohol  ran  out.  It  had  not  evaporated,  evidently 
by  reason  of  its  having  been  incased  in  the  internal 
organs,  which  were  thoroughly  saturated  with  it  and 
protected  by  the  thorax.  This  accounted  for  their 
excellent  state  of  preservation.  The  left  lung  showed 
a  spot  which  was  clearly  the  result  of  an  attack  of 
pneumonia  or  broncho-pneumonia.  It  had  healed, 
but  remained  surrounded  by  fibrous  tissue.  Augus 
tus  C.  Buell  in  his  "  Paul  Jones,"  Volume  II,  page 
235,  says:  "During  this  inspection  [of  the  Russian 
fleet],  which  consumed  about  fifteen  days,  the  ad 
miral  contracted  a  heavy  cold,  which  almost  the  very 
day  of  his  return  to  St.  Petersburg  developed  into 
pneumonia.  .  .  .  Both  the  eminent  physicians  who 
attended  him  pronounced  his  lungs  permanently  af 
fected  and  told  him  he  could  never  hope  to  endure 
again  the  rigors  of  a  Russian  winter."  This  was  in 
June,  1789.  In  May,  1790,  two  years  before  the  ad 
miral's  death,  he  returned  to  Paris.  The  same  au 
thor  says  of  him,  Volume  II,  page  267,  "  the  doctors 
declared  that  his  left  lung  was  more  or  less  perma 
nently  affected." 

Dr.  Capitan  and  Professor  Cornil  found  nothing 
particularly  characteristic  in  the  heart,  which  was  still 
quite  flexible.  It  was  contracted,  and  the  cardiac 
walls  exhibited  muscular  fibers  striated  lengthwise 

99 


and  crosswise.  An  abundance  of  small  crystals  and 
bacteria  were  noticed.  The  liver  was  of  a  yellowish- 
brown  color,  somewhat  contracted,  and  its  tissues 
were  rather  dense  and  compact.  There  were  found 
in  the  hepatic  cells  numerous  varieties  of  crystals 
and  microbes.  The  masses  of  tyrosin,  appearing  to 
the  naked  eye  like  white  opaque  granules,  were  less 
numerous  than  in  the  lungs.  The  cells  of  this  organ 
were  badly  preserved,  and  according  to  Dr.  Capitan, 
a  positive  opinion  could  not  be  given  as  to  symptoms 
caused  by  its  condition.  The  gall-bladder  was  healthy 
and  contained  a  pale  yellowish-brown  bile  of  a  pasty 
consistency.  The  stomach  was  contracted  and  very 
small.  The  spleen  appeared  comparatively  larger 
than  it  ought  to  have  been,  considering  the  marked 
contraction  of  all  the  viscera.  Its  tissues  appeared 
rather  firm ;  it  showed  no  anatomic  lesions.  The  kid 
neys  were  well  preserved  in  form  and  presented  very 
clearly  under  the  microscope  the  evidences  of  in 
terstitial  nephritis.  Dr.  Capitan,  in  speaking  of  these 
organs,  in  his  report,  says: 

The  vessels  at  several  points  had  their  walls  thick 
ened  and  invaded  by  sclerosis.  A  number  of  glo- 
merules  were  completely  transformed  into  fibrous 
tissue  and  appeared  in  the  form  of  small  spheres, 
strongly  colored  by  the  microscopic  reactions.  This 
verification  was  of  the  highest  importance.  It  gave 
the  key  to  the  various  pathological  symptoms  pre 
sented  by  Paul  Jones  at  the  close  of  his  life — ema 
ciation,  consumptive  condition,  and  especially  so 
much  swelling,  which  from  the  feet  gained  completely 

100 


the  nether  limbs,  then  the  abdomen,  where  it  even 
produced  ascites  (exsudat  intra  abdominal).  All 
these  affections  are  often  observed  at  the  close  of 
chronic  interstitial  nephritis.  It  can  therefore  be  said 
that  we  possess  microscopic  proof  that  Paul  Jones 
died  of  a  chronic  renal  affection,  of  which  he  had 
shown  symptoms  toward  the  close  of  his  life.  In  a 
word,  like  my  colleague,  Papillault,  and  by  different 
means,  relying  solely  upon  the  appearance  of  the 
subject,  on  the  comparison  of  his  head  with  the  Hou- 
don  bust,  and  besides  considering  that  the  observa 
tions  made  upon  his  viscera  agree  absolutely  with 
his  clinical  history,  I  reach  this  very  clear  and  well- 
grounded  conclusion,  namely,  that  the  corpse  of  which 
we  have  made  a  study  is  that  of  Paul  Jones. 

I  will  even  add,  always  with  Papillault,  that  being 
given  this  convergence  of  exceedingly  numerous,  very 
diversified,  and  always  agreeing  facts,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  have  a  concurrence  of  circumstances  ab 
solutely  exceptional  and  improbable  in  order  that  the 
corpse  here  concerned  be  not  that  of  Paul  Jones. 

Professor  Cornil  concludes  the  report  of  his  mi 
croscopic  examinations  as  follows:  "We  believe  that 
the  case  in  point  is  interstitial  nephritis  with  fibrous 
degeneracy  of  the  glomerules  of  Malpighi,  which 
quite  agrees  with  the  symptoms  observed  during  life." 

To  show  how  perfectly  the  revelations  of  the  au 
topsy  agree  with  the  symptoms  of  the  malady  which 
terminated  the  life  of  Paul  Jones,  in  addition  to  the 
affection  of  the  left  lung  described  by  his  historians 
and  hereinbefore  mentioned,  I  give  the  following 
citations  from  authentic  documents:  Buell  in  his 
"  Paul  Jones,"  Volume  II,  page  308,  after  mention- 
101 


ing  that  a  week  before  his  death  it  was  proposed  that 
he  should  be  called  to  the  bar  of  the  French  National 
Assembly  to  answer  such  questions  as  might  be  asked 
of  him  concerning  the  needs  of  the  navy  and  to  give 
his  own  ideas  as  to  how  those  needs  might  best  be 
met,  says :  "  He  asked  to  be  excused  on  the  ground 
that  his  articulation  was  not  strong  and  he  feared 
that  an  effort  to  make  himself  heard  throughout  the 
vast  chamber  would  so  strain  his  vocal  organs  as 
to  bring  on  a  fit  of  convulsive  coughing."  That  night 
Paul  Jones  attended  a  supper  at  the  Cafe  Timon. 
Capelle,  a  French  writer,  describes  the  affair  and 
gives  the  admiral's  speech,  in  which  he  said  in  con 
clusion:  "My  friends,  I  would  love  to  pursue  this 
theme,  but,  as  you  see,  my  voice  is  failing  and  my 
lower  limbs  become  swollen  when  I  stand  up  too 
long." 

Benoit-Andre,  who  published  a  memoir  of  Paul 
Jones  six  years  after  his  death,  says:  "  The  day  after 
the  admiral  had  been  at  supper  at  the  Cafe  Timon 
he  did  not  rise  until  nearly  noon.  His  lower  limbs 
began  to  swell  prodigiously,  his  stomach  soon  began 
to  expand,  and  he  had  much  difficulty  at  times  in 
breathing;  all  the  time  afflicted  with  an  exhausting 
cough  and  much  raising  of  mucus." 

Colonel  Blackden's  letter  to  Mrs.  Janet  Taylor, 
regarding  the  disease  and  death,  has  already  been 
quoted. 

The  official  certificate  of  burial  says  he  died  of 
dropsy  of  the  chest  ("  hydropisie  de  poitrine"). 
102 


The  complete  verification  of  all  these  symptoms  by 
means  of  an  autopsy  made  upon  a  corpse  a  hundred 
and  thirteen  years  after  death  must  be  regarded  as 
a  notable  triumph  of  anthropologic  science,  of  deep 
interest  to  the  medical  profession,  and  a  service  of 
signal  importance  in  the  present  instance. 

No  mark  of  a  wound  was  discovered  on  the  body. 
Paul  Jones  was  never  wounded.  History  is  in  abun 
dant  possession  of  the  most  detailed  records  of  every 
fight  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and  there  is  nowhere 
a  single  mention  of  his  ever  having  received  a  wound. 
Sherburne,  in  his  well-known  "  Life  and  Character 
of  Paul  Jones,"  page  362,  says:  "Commodore  John 
Paul  Jones  on  the  ocean  during  the  American  Revo 
lution  was  as  General  Washington  on  the  land — never 
known  to  be  defeated  in  battle,  and  neither  ever  re 
ceiving  a  wound."  Sands,  in  his  "  Life  and  Corre 
spondence  of  Paul  Jones,"  says  that  he  was  assured 
that  the  admiral  was  once  wounded  in  the  head,  but 
admits  further  on  that  "  he  never  chronicled  his 
wounds  in  any  letter  or  journal."  It  has  been  as 
serted  that  there  is  in  existence  a  draft  of  a  letter 
written  by  the  admiral  four  months  before  his  death, 
in  1792,  to  the  French  Minister  of  Marine,  complain 
ing  of  M.  de  Sartine,  his  predecessor  in  that  office, 
for  not  having  asked  him  (Jones)  if  his  health  had 
not  suffered  from  his  wounds  and  fatigues;  but  as 
"  drafts  "  of  letters  supposed  to  have  been  written 
in  accordance  therewith  are  not  convincing,  and  as 
M.  de  Sartine  had  left  the  Ministry  of  Marine  Decem- 
103 


her  1,  1780,  more  than  eleven  years  before,  the  state 
ment  does  not  carry  weight. 

The  detailed  technical  reports  of  the  scientists  were 
filed  with  my  communication  to  the  government,  and 
publicity  has  already  been  given  to  them  by  the 
authors.  Their  production  here  in  extenso  would  be 
beyond  the  scope  of  this  article,  so  that  I  have  con 
fined  myself  to  making  the  above  summary  of  them, 
giving  the  methods  employed  and  the  conclusions 
reached.  After  the  autopsy  the  internal  organs  were 
replaced  in  the  thorax. 

Appended  to  this  article  are  copies  of  the  formal 
documents  under  seal  containing  the  certifications  of 
the  official  witnesses  to  the  identification  of  the  re 
mains.  I  said  to  them  all  that  if  there  existed  a  single 
doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  one  as  to  the  absolute  and 
unquestioned  identity  of  the  body  submitted  for  ex 
amination,  I  begged  that  he  would  frankly  make  it 
known.  Not  a  doubt  was  expressed,  and  their  de 
cision  was  unanimous. 

It  was  now  seen  that  some  deterioration  of  the  body 
was  taking  place  from  exposure  to  the  air.  I  there 
fore  gave  instructions  to  the  experienced  specialists  in 
the  School  of  Medicine  to  take  every  precaution  to 
preserve  the  flesh  intact,  and  made  arrangements  to 
replace  the  remains  in  the  original  coffin,  and  incase 
them  in  a  casket  which  could  be  hermetically  sealed 
and  prepared  for  transportation  to  America. 

A  leaden  casket  was  procured,  in  the  bottom  of 
which  was  placed  a  bed  of  sawdust  treated  with 
104 


phenol.  On  this  was  laid  the  lid  of  the  original  coffin, 
next  to  it  the  original  coffin,  in  the  bottom  of  which 
the  winding-sheet  had  been  placed.  On  the  top  of 
the  winding-sheet  was  spread  a  sheet  of  impermeable 
oiled  silk  and  then  a  layer  of  cotton  batting  impreg 
nated  with  phenic  glycerin.  The  body  was  treated 
with  a  coating  of  the  same  substance,  and  the  face 
was  sprayed  with  the  essence  of  thymol.  The  hair 
was  gathered  into  the  small  linen  cap  in  which  it 
had  been  found.  The  body,  upon  which  the  shirt  had 
been  replaced,  was  then  put  into  the  original  coffin 
and  laid  upon  the  cotton  batting  above  mentioned, 
after  which  another  layer  of  this  material,  saturated 
with  phenic  glycerin,  was  spread  over  the  body  and 
covered  with  a  second  sheet  of  oiled  silk.  The  whole 
was  then  covered  and  packed  with  medicated  cotton 
batting.  There  were  also  placed  in  the  original  coffin 
a  glass  jar  containing  specimens  of  the  hay  and 
straw  which  had  been  used  in  packing,  and  a  pack 
age  of  fragments  of  the  indurated  earth  which  had 
closed  the  hole  and  the  crack  in  the  original  coffin. 
The  lid,  in  which  is  a  large  glass  plate,  of  the  casket 
was  then  soldered  on  and  seals  of  the  American  em 
bassy  affixed.  The  casket  was  afterward  placed  in 
an  outer  coffin  of  oak  provided  with  eight  silver 
handles,  the  lid  of  which  was  secured  by  sixteen 
silver  screws. 

On  April  20  this  coffin  was  taken  to  the  American 
Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Avenue  de  1'Alma,  ac 
companied  by  the  American  Ambassador,  M.  Vignaud, 
105 


First  Secretary  of  the  Embassy,  Colonel  Blanchard, 
Second  Secretary,  Mr.  Gowdy,  Consul-General,  and 
M.  Weiss,  engineer  in  charge  of  the  excavations. 

The  coffin,  covered  with  the  American  flag,  was 
placed  in  the  receiving-vault,  the  rector  of  the  church, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Morgan,  offered  a  prayer,  and  the  re 
mains  were  left  there  to  await  the  completion  of 
arrangements  for  their  transfer  to  the  United  States. 

For  several  years  a  search  had  been  pressed  to 
find  the  house  in  which  the  admiral  died,  No.  42 
Rue  de  Tournon.  There  had  been  renumberings  of 
the  dwellings  throughout  the  arrondissement,  and  it 
seemed  impossible  to  trace  them  with  sufficient  ac 
curacy  to  locate  the  house  in  which  Paul  Jones,  as 
history  states,  occupied  an  "  apartment  on  the  first 
floor  above  the  entresol."  This  furnished  another 
instance  of  the  mystery  which  pursued  his  memory. 
It  was  not  'until  the  first  week  in  July,  1905,  that 
the  place  was  found,  thanks  to  the  untiring  and  im 
portant  assistance  rendered  by  M.  Taxil,  chief  sur 
veyor  of  the  city  of  Paris.  The  house  is  now  No.  19 
of  that  street.  It  is  the  only  one  in  the  immediate 
locality  which  has  a  first  floor  over  an  entresol. 

The  style  of  the  ironwork  on  the  balcony  indicates 
an  architecture  of  the  period  of  the  close  of  the 
reign  of  Louis  XV  or  the  beginning  of  that  of  Louis 
XVI.  The  street  leads  toward  the  entrance  to  the 
Senate,  palace  of  the  Luxembourg.  It  was  once  a 
fashionable  street,  and  at  the  present  time  several 
persons  of  distinction  live  there.  On  the  ground  floor 
106 


of  the  house  a  sign  bears  the  words  "  Lessons  in 
fencing,  boxing,  and  the  use  of  the  single  stick." 
This  proffered  instruction  in  the  several  arts  of 
righting  in  the  house  in  which  Paul  Jones  resided, 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  the  underground  station 
close  to  the  cemetery  where  his  body  reposed  is 
called  "  Combat,"  looks  as  if  fate  had  determined 
that  he  should  be  everywhere  identified  with  signs 
of  conflict  and  struggle,  whether  in  life  or  in  death. 

I  visited  this  house  for  the  first  time,  accompanied 
by  Colonel  Blanchard,  July  4,  1905.  Colonel  A. 
Bailly-Blanchard  was  my  second  secretary  at  the 
embassy,  and  it  gives  me  peculiar  pleasure  to  make 
conspicuous  mention  of  his  services.  I  assigned  him 
to  duty  as  my  principal  assistant,  and  he  was  con 
stantly  associated  with  me  throughout  the  entire 
period  of  the  researches.  His  rare  accomplishments 
eminently  fitted  him  for  the  service,  and  the  ability 
and  zeal  displayed  by  him  entitle  him  to  the  most 
grateful  consideration. 

Upon  the  receipt  and  examination  of  my  detailed 
reports,  the  government  recognized  the  completeness 
of  the  identification  of  the  admiral's  body,  and  Presi 
dent  Roosevelt  ordered  a  squadron,  composed  of  the 
Brooklyn,  Tacoma,  Chattanooga,  and  Galveston,  com 
manded  by  Admiral  Sigsbee,  to  proceed  to  Cherbourg 
and  convey  the  remains  of  Paul  Jones  to  the  Naval 
Academy  in  Annapolis,  where  they  are  to  receive 
permanent  interment  in  the  crypt  of  the  new  chapel 
now  under  construction. 

107 


In  the  meantime  I  had  consulted  with  the  Presi 
dent  of  France,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Presi 
dent  of  the  Council,  General  of  the  Army,  Admiral 
of  the  Navy,  and  others,  as  to  what  part  the  French 
desired  to  take  in  the  ceremonies  attending  the  trans 
fer  of  the  remains.  They  all  manifested  an  enthu 
siastic  wish  to  pay  every  possible  honor  on  that  occa 
sion  to  the  memory  of  our  illustrious  sailor,  and  a 
program  was  accordingly  arranged  which  would  best 
carry  out  this  desire.  Admiral  Fournier,  who  repre 
sented  the  naval  forces,  told  me  that  it  was  after 
reading  the  life  of  Paul  Jones  that  he  had  resolved 
to  become  a  sailor.  So  that  it  was  the  inspiration 
of  our  great  sea-fighter  that  gave  to  France  an  ad 
miral  who  to-day  commands  the  admiration  of  naval 
men  of  all  countries. 

Our  squadron  was  heartily  welcomed  at  Cherbourg 
by  a  French  fleet,  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  vieing 
with  the  officials  to  pay  every  possible  attention  to 
our  officers  and  men.  In  Paris  a  series  of  public 
dinners  and  receptions  were  tendered  them,  and  they 
were  feted  in  a  manner  rarely  seen  even  in  the  bril 
liant  and  hospitable  capital  of  France. 

Admiral  Sigsbee  brought  five  hundred  blue-jackets 
to  Paris  on  July  6,  and  at  3.30  P.M.  the  ceremonies 
attending  the  transfer  of  the  remains  began  in  the 
beautiful  American  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 
Avenue  de  1'Alma. 

In  the  morning  I  had  had  the  coffin  brought  from 
the  vault  into  the  church,  placed  in  front  of  the  chan- 
108 


eel,  and  covered  with  artistically  arranged  flowers. 
The  church  itself  was  tastefully  dressed  with  floral 
decorations.  The  audience  was  one  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  that  has  ever  been  drawn  together  in 
Paris.  The  President  of  the  Republic  was  repre 
sented  by  the  chief  of  his  household,  who  occupied 
a  chair  in  front  of  the  chancel.  On  the  right  of  the 
middle  aisle  were  seated  the  President  of  the  Coun 
cil  and  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  the  leading  mem 
bers  of  the  Cabinet,  and  the  highest  officers  of  the 
French  army  and  navy.  On  the  left  the  resident 
American  ambassador,  the  two  special  ambassadors 
designated  for  the  occasion,  Admiral  Sigsbee  with 
his  captains  and  staff  officers,  Senator  Lodge,  and  the 
members  of  the  diplomatic  corps.  Seated  in  the  re 
maining  pews  and  standing  crowded  in  the  aisles  and 
doorways  were  distinguished  persons  from  many 
countries.  The  elaborate  uniforms,  the  exquisite 
flowers,  the  brilliant  flags,  enhanced  the  beauty  of 
a  scene  which  it  is  seldom  one's  fortune  to  witness 
and  which  will  be  memorable  in  history. 

After  careful  consultation,  I  concluded  that  it 
would  be  appropriate  to  avoid  an  ordinary  funeral 
service,  with  dirges  and  requiems,  as  the  occasion 
was  not  a  funeral,  but  rather  a  glorification  of  the 
dead,  so  that  anthems,  patriotic  airs,  and  marches 
glorieuses  constituted  the  music.  After  a  simple  but 
most  impressive  service  had  been  conducted  by  the 
rector  I  formally  delivered  the  remains  to  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  in  the  following  words: 
109 


"  This  day  America  claims  her  illustrious  dead. 

"  In  the  performance  of  a  solemn  duty  I  have  the 
honor  to  deliver  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  through  its  designated  representative,  the  re 
mains  of  Admiral  John  Paul  Jones,  to  be  borne  with 
appropriate  marks  of  distinction  to  the  country  upon 
whose  arms  his  heroic  deeds  shed  so  much  lustre. 
It  is  believed  that  their  permanent  interment  in  the 
land  to  whose  independence  his  matchless  victories 
so  essentially  contributed  will  not  be  lacking  in  sig 
nificance  by  reason  of  its  long  delay. 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  extreme  gratification  to  feel  that 
the  body  of  this  intrepid  commander  should  be  con 
veyed  across  the  sea  by  the  war-vessels  of  a  navy 
to  whose  sailors  his  name  is  still  an  inspiration,  and 
that  this  high  mission  should  be  confided  to  so  gallant 
an  officer  of  the  same  noble  profession  as  the  dis 
tinguished  admiral  who  commands  the  escorting 
squadron. 

"  An  earnest  expression  of  recognition  is  due  to 
the  accomplished  savants  of  France,  whose  acknow 
ledged  skill  in  anthropologic  science  confirmed  in 
every  particular,  with  entire  accuracy  and  absolute 
certainty,  the  identification  of  the  remains  which  were 
so  marvelously  preserved. 

"  We  owe  a  cordial  tribute  of  gratitude  to  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  French  Republic  for  the  cheerful 
proffer  of  facilities  during  the  search  for  the  body, 
the  sympathy  so  generously  manifested  upon  its  re 
covery,  and  the  signal  honors  rendered  upon  this 
110 


occasion  to  the  memory  of  a  hero  who  once  covered 
two  continents  with  his  renown  in  battling  for  the 
cherished  principles  of  political  liberty  and  the  rights 
of  man,  for  which  the  two  sister  republics  have  both 
so  strenuously  contended. 

"  All  that  is  mortal  of  this  illustrious  organizer  of 
victory  on  the  sea  lies  in  yonder  coffin  beneath  the 
folds  of  our  national  standard.  When  Congress 
adopted  the  present  form  of  the  American  flag,  it 
embodied  in  the  same  resolution  the  appointment  of 
Captain  John  Paul  Jones  to  command  the  ship 
Ranger.  When  he  received  the  news  history  at 
tributes  to  him  the  following  remark:  'The  flag  and ^ 
I  are  twins ;  born  the  same  hour  from  the  same  womb 
of  destiny.  We  cannot  be  parted  in  life  or  in  death.' 
Alas!  they  were  parted  during  a  hundred  and  thir 
teen  years,  but  happily  they  are  now  reunited." 

Mr.  Loomis,  First  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  and 
Junior  Special  Ambassador,  received  the  body,  mak 
ing  an  interesting  address  in  which  he  recited  the 
most  stirring  events  in  the  career  of  Paul  Jones,  and 
expressed  the  extreme  gratification  of  the  govern 
ment  at  the  recovery  of  the  remains.  He  finished 
by  delivering  them  to  Admiral  Sigsbee  for  transpor 
tation  to  the  United  States.  Admiral  Sigsbee,  in 
accepting  the  high  mission  with  which  he  had  been 
charged,  delivered  a  brief,  appropriate,  and  eminently 
sailorlike  address,  which  was  warmly  received. 

Eight  American  blue-jackets  now  stepped  forward 
and  bore  the  coffin  solemnly  from  the  church.    They 
111 


had  been  carefully  selected  for  their  manly  bearing 
and  their  stature,  each  being  over  six  feet  in  height. 
They  commanded  the  admiration  of  all  who  saw  them, 
and  the  Americans  present  were  naturally  delighted 
to  hear  the  whispered  comments  of  the  French  ladies, 
"  Quels  beaux  garfons!  " 

The  coffin  was  placed  upon  a  French  artillery  cais 
son  tastefully  adorned  with  flags. 

The  elaborate  procession  was  constituted  as  fol 
lows:  The  famous  French  cavalry,  the  Garde  Repu- 
blicaine,  five  hundred  American  sailors,  the  body  of 
John  Paul  Jones,  Admiral  Sigsbee  and  staff,  the 
American  ambassadors  and  Senator  Lodge,  the  per 
sonnel  of  the  American  embassy,  the  high  officials  of 
the  French  government  and  of  the  diplomatic  corps, 
delegations  from  the  American  Navy  League  and 
from  the  American  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Paris, 
members  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution,  and  other  patriotic  organiza 
tions,  all  on  foot.  Then  came  a  battalion  of  French 
horse-artillery  and  a  battalion  of  French  infantry  with 
their  famous  bands. 

The  column  moved  down  the  brilliant  Avenue  of 
the  Champs  Elysees  and  across  the  Seine  by  the 
stately  bridge  of  Alexander  III,  which  leads  to  the 
Invalides.  When  the  body  of  John  Paul  Jones  was 
seen  moving  solemnly  toward  the  body  of  Napoleon, 
each  having  died  in  a  distant  land  to  be  brought  back 
after  many  years  with  every  mark  of  honor  to  the 
country  he  had  so  eminently  served,  there  was  a 
112 


sentiment  aroused  which  deeply  touched  the  hearts 
of  all  participating  in  the  ceremony. 

When  the  wide  Esplanade  des  Invalides  was 
reached,  the  coffin  was  lifted  from  the  caisson  and 
placed  upon  a  catafalque  erected  beneath  a  tent  of 
superb  construction,  the  material  being  a  rich  royal 
purple  velvet  hung  with  gold  fringe,  the  front  orna 
mented  with  swords,  shields,  cuirasses,  and  other 
warlike  devices.  Here  the  troops  filed  by  the  re 
mains  and  rendered  the  highest  military  honors  to 
the  illustrious  dead.  The  coffin  was  then  borne  to 
the  mortuary  car  prepared  for  it  in  the  railway  sta 
tion  close  by,  and  a  special  train  bore  it  to  Cherbourg 
that  night  with  its  guard  of  honor  composed  of  Ameri 
cans  and  Frenchmen. 

Paris  had  that  day  witnessed  a  pageant  entirely 
unique  in  its  way,  and  of  surpassing  beauty  and 
solemnity.  The  weather  was  superb,  and  the  streets 
and  houses  were  appropriately  decorated.  The  vast 
crowds  of  spectators  gazed  upon  the  cortege  with 
sympathy  and  respect.  No  cheers  or  other  inappro 
priate  demonstrations  were  indulged  in.  The  on 
lookers  simply  uncovered  reverently  as  the  coffin 
passed.  Their  bearing  in  every  respect  was  ad 
mirable. 

The  next  day,  July  7,  I  went  to  Cherbourg  to  sail 
for  home.  A  cordial  invitation  had  been  received 
from  the  government  and  Admiral  Sigsbee  to  take 
passage  on  board  the  flagship.  While  this  was  deeply 
appreciated,  it  was  declined,  as  I  felt  that  it  would 
113 


be  in  better  taste  to  return  by  the  ordinary  lines  of 
travel  now  that  the  subject  of  the  mission  had  been 
formally  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  navy  and  I  could 
render  no  further  useful  service. 

The  fleets  of  the  two  nations  lay  side  by  side  in 
that  picturesque  military  harbor,  discharging  their 
peaceful  and  sympathetic  mission,  our  phantom- 
colored  vessels  presenting  an  interesting  contrast  to 
the  black  hulls  of  the  French  warships.  There  I  took 
a  last  look  at  the  coffin  which  contained  all  that  is 
mortal  of  the  hero,  the  search  for  whose  remains  had 
furnished  a  congenial  task  for  the  past  six  years. 
Upon  sailing  out  of  the  harbor,  the  squadron  honored 
me  with  a  parting  ambassadorial  salute,  and  I  now 
felt  that  my  mission  in  connection  with  the  recovery 
of  the  body  of  our  illustrious  naval  commander  was 
definitely  ended. 


114 


APPENDIX 

OFFICIAL    CERTIFICATION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    EMBASSY 

AND  CONSULATE  OF  THE  IDENTIFICATION  OF  THE 

BODY   OF   ADMIRAL    JOHN    PAUL    JONES 

THIS  is  to  certify  that  we,  the  undersigned,  met  at 
the  School  of  Medicine  (L'ficole  de  Medecine)  in  the 
City  of  Paris  at  ten  o'clock  A.M.  on  the  fourteenth 
day  of  April,  1905,  for  the  purpose  of  verifying  the 
identification  of  the  remains  recently  found  by  the 
American  Ambassador  in  the  old  Saint  Louis  ceme 
tery  for  the  burial  of  foreign  Protestants,  and  be 
lieved  to  be  those  of  Admiral  John  Paul  Jones. 

The  body  was  lying  on  a  table,  entirely  uncovered, 
having  been  taken  from  the  leaden  coffin  in  which 
it  had  been  found,  and  from  which  the  linen  had  been 
removed  and  placed  on  another  table. 

We  had  familiarized  ourselves  with  the  historical 
information  regarding  the  age,  size,  color  of  hair,  gen 
eral  appearance,  manner  of  dress,  etc.,  of  John  Paul 
Jones,  and  there  were  placed  near  the  body  the  medal 
presented  to  him  by  Congress  to  commemorate  his 
battle  with  the  Serapis,  showing  his  head  in  profile 
and  a  copy  of  the  well-known  bust  made  from  life 
by  Houdon,  which  had  been  loaned  for  the  purpose 
by  the  Trocadero  Museum.  The  remains  were  those 
of  a  man,  and  were  remarkably  well  preserved  by 
having  evidently  been  immersed  in  alcohol.  The  flesh 
seemed  firm,  and  the  joints  were  somewhat  flexible. 

115 


There  were  bits  of  tinfoil  adhering  to  the  hands,  feet, 
and  other  parts  of  the  body,  as  if  they  had  been 
wrapped  with  it.  The  body  was  lying  on  its  back, 
the  hands  were  crossed  over  the  abdomen,  the  left 
hand  resting  on  the  right.  It  was  of  a  grayish  brown 
or,  rather,  a  tan  color.  The  right  eyelid  was  closed, 
the  other  was  slightly  open.  The  features  presented 
quite  a  natural  appearance  except  that  the  cartila 
ginous  portion  of  the  nose  was  bent  over  to  the  right 
and  pressed  down  as  if  by  the  too  close  proximity  of 
the  lid  of  the  coffin  or  by  the  excess  of  the  hay  and 
straw  in  packing  the  body.  Several  fine  oblique  lines 
were  traceable  upon  the  face,  made  by  the  folds  of 
the  winding-sheet,  which  had  left  upon  the  skin  an 
imprint  of  the  texture  of  the  fabric.  The  lips  were 
a  very  little  shrunken  or  contracted,  exposing  the 
extreme  ends  of  the  teeth.  This  slight  contraction 
did  not  exist  when  the  coffin  was  opened,  and  seemed 
to  have  been  caused  by  exposure  to  the  air. 

Dr.  Papillault,  Professor  of  Anthropology  in  the 
School  of  Anthropology,  one  of  the  scientists  who 
had  been  highly  recommended  and  selected  to  aid  in 
the  work  of  identifying  the  body  on  account  of  his 
valuable  experience  in  such  examinations,  explained 
to  us  the  methods  he  had  adopted,  and  showed  us 
the  elaborate  comparative  measurements  he  had  made 
of  all  the  important  features  of  the  body  and  of  the 
Houdon  bust.  The  agreement  was  singularly  exact 
in  every  important  particular,  as  will  be  shown  in 
his  report,  which  he  read  in  our  presence,  explaining 
the  details  as  he  proceeded.  The  principal  results 
were  as  follows.  The  word  "  identical  "  will  be  used 
to  signify  that  the  agreement  between  the  correspond 
ing  dimensions  of  the  body  and  of  the  Houdon  bust 
is  exact,  and  that  the  appearance  conforms  strictly 
to  the  authentic  historical  description  of  the  admiral. 

116 


Length  of  body,  five  feet  seven  and  three-eighths 
inches.  Height  of  Paul  Jones  was  five  feet  seven 
inches;  the  three-eighths  is  the  difference  allowed 
by  anthropologists  between  a  person  standing  and 
the  same  person  lying  down.  "  Was  five  feet  seven 
inches  tall,  slender  in  build,  of  exquisitely  symmet 
rical  form,  with  noticeably  perfect  development  of 
limbs"  ("  Anecdotes  of  the  Court  of  Louis  XVI"). 
Identical. 

Principal  features  of  face  and  head.    Identical. 

No  beard.  Identical.  Face  presented  appearance 
of  one  who  had  not  shaved  for  several  days. 

Hair  very  dark  brown — generally  speaking,  might 
be  called  black.  The  front  hair  upon  opening  the 
coffin  was  found  to  be  of  an  unnatural  tan  color,  like 
the  flesh,  evidently  discolored  by  the  presence  of  the 
alcohol  and  straw.  After  taking  some  hair  from  the 
back  of  the  head,  where  it  had  been  protected  by 
being  gathered  into  a  linen  bag,  and  washing  it,  its 
color  was  dark  brown  or  black.  "  He  was  of  the 
complexion  usually  united  with  dark  hair  and  eyes, 
which  were  his  "  ("  Memoirs  of  Paul  Jones,"  Edin 
burgh  edition).  "  His  hair  and  eyebrows  are  black  " 
("Anecdotes  of  the  Court  of  Louis  XVI").  See 
specimen  of  hair  accompanying  this  report.  Identical. 

The  hair  in  a  few  places  was  slightly  tinged  with 
gray.  This  fact,  together  with  the  condition  of  the 
teeth,  indicates  a  person  of  between  forty  and  fifty 
years  old.  John  Paul  Jones  was  forty-five  at  the 
time  of  his  death. 

Dr.  Capitan,  Professor  of  Historic  Anthropology 
in  the  School  of  Anthropology,  Vice-President  of  the 
Commission  on  Megalithic  Monuments,  member  of 
the  Committee  on  Historical  and  Scientific  Works  and 
of  the  Society  of  Old  Paris,  etc.,  then  explained  the 
course  pursued  by  him  in  the  identification  and  the 

117 


autopsy  effected  by  opening  the  back  and  removing 
and  examining  the  internal  organs  so  singularly  pre 
served,  and  gave  convincing  evidence  that  the  de 
ceased  had  died  of  the  disease  which  terminated  the 
life  of  John  Paul  Jones.  (See  Dr.  Capitan's  report.) 
In  1790  "  the  doctors  declared  that  his  left  lung  was 
more  or  less  permanently  affected  "  (Buell's  "  His 
tory  of  Paul  Jones").  "He  died  of  dropsy  of  the 
chest"  (official  certificate  of  burial).  "For  two 
months  past  he  began  to  lose  his  appetite,  grew  yel 
low,  and  showed  symptoms  of  jaundice."  "  A  few 
days  before  his  death  his  legs  began  to  swell,  which 
proceeded  upward  to  his  body,  so  that  for  two  days 
before  his  decease  he  could  not  button  his  waist 
coat  and  had  great  difficulty  in  breathing  "  (Letter 
of  Colonel  Blackden). 

The  linen  taken  from  the  coffin,  all  in  exceedingly 
good  condition  except  stained  in  places  a  tan  color, 
was  then  minutely  examined.  It  consisted  of  a  shirt 
of  fine  linen,  handsomely  made,  with  plaits  and  ruf 
fles  corresponding  with  the  historical  description  of 
the  admiral's  fondness  for  dress.  "  He  is  a  master 
of  the  arts  of  dress  and  personal  adornment,  and  it  is 
a  common  remark  that  notwithstanding  the  frugality 
of  his  means  he  never  fails  to  be  the  best  dressed 
man  at  any  dinner  or  fete  he  may  honor  by  attend 
ing  "  ("Anecdotes  of  the  Court  of  Louis  XVI"). 
"  To  his  dress  he  was,  or  at  least  latterly  became,  so 
attentive  as  to  have  it  remarked  "  ("  Memoirs  of  Paul 
Jones,"  Edinburgh  edition).  Identical. 

A  sheet  on  which  was  worked  with  thread  the  fig 
ure  2.  A  linen  bag  or  cap  neatly  made,  which  had 
been  found  at  the  back  of  the  head  and  into  which  the 
hair  had  been  gathered.  Upon  this  was  a  small  ini 
tial  worked  with  thread.  When  the  bag  was  held  right 
side  up  the  letter  was  a  "  J  "  with  the  loop  nearly 

118 


closed;  when  held  in  the  reverse  position  it  was  a 
"  P."  If  a  "  J  "  it  would  be  the  initial  of  Jones,  the 
name  which  he  added  to  his  family  name.  If  a  "  P  " 
it  would  be  the  initial  of  his  original  family  name, 
Paul.  It  may  be  remarked  that  then,  as  now,  the 
French  often  marked  their  linen  with  the  initial  of 
their  Christian  name.  In  Paris,  the  admiral  was 
sometimes  familiarly  addressed  as  "  Mon  Paul  "  and 
"  Monsieur  Paul."  He  often  signed  his  name  Paul 
Jones  and  sometimes  J.  Paul  Jones,  as  shown  by  his 
correspondence. 

There  were  no  other  articles  in  the  coffin  except  the 
hay  and  straw  with  which  the  body  had  been  care 
fully  packed,  and  no  inscription  plate  had  been  found. 
Taking  into  careful  consideration  the  convincing 
proofs  of  identification  of  the  body  by  means  of  the 
measurements,  the  autopsy,  etc.,  the  marks  upon  the 
linen,  the  fact  that  the  coffin  was  found  in  the  ceme 
tery  in  which  it  was  proved  to  have  been  buried,  that 
it  was  superior  in  solidity  and  workmanship  to  the 
others,  that  the  body  had  been  carefully  preserved 
and  packed  as  if  to  prepare  it  for  a  long  voyage, "that, 
in  case  the  United  States,  which  he  had  so  essen 
tially  served,  and  with  so  much  honor,  should  claim 
his  remains  they  might  be  more  easily  removed  " 
(Letter  of  Colonel  Blackden,  the  admiral's  intimate 
friend,  witness  of  his  will  and  pall-bearer  at  his  fu 
neral,  addressed  to  the  eldest  sister  of  Paul  Jones, 
Mrs.  Janet  Taylor),  and  the  further  fact  that  in  ex 
ploring  the  cemetery  there  was  every  evidence  that 
the  graves  of  the  dead  had  never  been  disturbed, 
that  only  five  leaden  coffins  were  found,  four  of 
which  were  easily  identified,  three  of  them  having 
inscription  plates  giving  dates  and  names  of  the  de 
ceased  and  the  fourth  containing  a  skeleton  measur 
ing  about  six  feet  two  inches  in  length,  we  regard  the 

119 


identification  as  completely  verified  in  every  particu 
lar  and  are  fully  convinced  that  the  body  discovered 
is  that  of  Admiral  John  Paul  Jones. 

(Signed)  HORACE  PORTER, 

SEAL  OF  THE  AMERICAN  American  Ambassador. 

EMBASSY  AT  PARIS. 

(Signed)  HENRY  VIGNAUD, 

Secretary  American  Embassy. 

(Signed)  JOHN  K.  GOWDY, 

U.  S.  Consul-General 

(Signed)  A.  BAILLY-BLANCHARD, 

SEAL  OF  THE  AMERICAN  Second  Secretary  American 

CONSULATE  AT  PARIS. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE  OFFICIAL  CERTIFICATION 
OF  THE   PARTICIPANTS  AND  WITNESSES 

AT  the  request  of  his  Excellency,  General  Horace 
Porter,  American  Ambassador,  Grand  Cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  recipient  of  the  Congressional 
Medal  of  Honor, 

I,  JUSTIN  DE  SELVES,  Prefect  of  the  Seine,  Grand 
Officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 

and  I,  Louis  LEPINE,  Prefect  of  Police,  Grand  Offi 
cer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 

went  on  Friday,  the  14th  day  of  April,  1905,  at  10 
A.M.,  to  the  School  of  Medicine,  where  a  leaden  coffin 
was  deposited  containing  the  presumed  remains  of 
John  Paul  Jones. 

The  said  coffin  was  discovered  in  the  former  ceme 
tery  for  foreign  Protestants  under  the  conditions 
stated  in  the  report  drawn  up  by  the  Service  des  Car- 
rieres  (quarries)  of  the  Department  of  the  Seine, 

120 


and  annexed  to  the  present  certificate.  It  was  trans 
ported  to  the  School  of  Medicine  through  the  care 
of  M.  Geninet,  a  municipal  superintendent  of  public 
works,  on  Saturday,  April  8th,  1905. 

In  our  presence  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Am 
bassador  of  the  United  States  and  in  that  of  the  fol 
lowing  persons: — 

Mr.  Henry  Vignaud,  First  Secretary  of  the  Embassy 
of  the  United  States,  Commander  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor; 

Colonel  A.  Bailly-Blanchard,  late  Aide-de-Camp  to 
the  Governor  of  Louisiana,  Second  Secretary  of  the 
Embassy  of  the  U.  S.,  Officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 
Officer  of  Public  Instruction,  etc.; 

John  K.  Gowdy,  Consul-General  of  the  United 
States; 

Dr.  Capitan,  Professor  of  the  School  of  Anthro 
pology,  member  of  the  Committee  of  Historic  and 
Scientific  Works  (Ministry  of  Public  Instruction), 
member  of  the  Municipal  Commission  of  Old  Paris, 
late  President  of  the  Society  of  Anthropology  of 
Paris,  etc.; 

Dr.  G.  Papillault,  Assistant  Director  of  the  Labora 
tory  of  Anthropology  of  the  ficole  des  Hautes  Etudes, 
Professor  in  the  School  of  Anthropology; 

Dr.  Herve,  Doctor  of  Medicine,  Professor  in  the 
School  of  Anthropology; 

Dr.  A.  Javal,  Doctor  of  Medicine,  Physician  of  the 
Ministry  of  the  Interior,  Laureate  of  the  School  of 
Medicine; 

Mr.  J.  Pray,  architect-in-chief  of  the  Prefecture  of 
Police,  Officer  of  Public  Education; 

M.  Paul  Weiss,  Mining  Engineer,  Inspector  of  the 
Quarries  of  the  Seine,  Doctor  of  Laws: — the  exam 
ination  of  the  coffin  and  body  was  proceeded  with. 
General  Porter,  Colonel  Bailly-Blanchard,  and  Mr. 

121 


Weiss  declared  that  they  recognized  the  coffin  and 
the  body  as  being  those  found  in  the  former  ceme 
tery  for  foreign  Protestants  and  transmitted  to  the 
School  of  Medicine  for  the  purpose  of  identification. 

Dr.  Papillault  read  a  detailed  Report  and  concluded 
that  the  body  was  that  of  John  Paul  Jones. 

By  the  side  of  the  body  were  placed  the  bust  of 
the  Admiral  by  Houdon,  a  plaster  cast,  loaned  by  the 
Museum  of  the  Trocadero,  of  the  original  bust  in 
the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  at  Philadelphia,  also  the 
medal  signed  Dupre,  which  was  struck  in  honor  of 
Paul  Jones  by  order  of  Congress  to  commemorate  his 
famous  battle  with  the  Serapis  and  the  Scarborough, 
which  enabled  one  to  verify  the  perfect  resemblance 
existing  between  the  reproduction  of  the  features  of 
the  Admiral  and  the  corpse. 

The  shirt  and  winding-sheet  in  which  the  body  was 
wrapped  were  likewise  examined.  On  the  cap  which 
contained  his  hair  those  present  noted  the  existence 
of  an  initial  which  in  one  direction  is  a  capital  "  P  " 
and  in  a  contrary  direction  a  "  J,"  both  letters  consti 
tuting  the  initials  of  the  Admiral. 

After  these  various  examinations  Dr.  Capitan  read 
his  report  upon  the  result  of  the  autopsy  which  he 
had  made  upon  the  corpse  and  which  revealed  the 
symptoms  of  the  disease  of  which  it  is  known  the 
Admiral  died.  Dr.  Capitan  and  Dr.  Papillault  were 
both  in  accord  in  affirming  as  a  scientific  truth  the 
identity  of  the  deceased. 

In  view  of  the  perfect  coincidence  of  all  the  facts 
relating  to  the  burial  and  of  the  agreement  of  all 
the  physical  measurements,  those  present  were  unani 
mous  in  recognizing  the  body  as  being  that  of  Admiral 
John  Paul  Jones. 

Consequently  the  body  was  replaced  in  the  leaden 
coffin  in  which  it  was  discovered,  to  be  ultimately 

122 


inclosed  in  a  new  triple  coffin  of  pine,  lead,  and  oak, 
sealed  and  transferred  to  the  vault  of  the  American 
Church  in  the  Avenue  de  1'Alma. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  drawn  up  and  signed 
with  all  those  in  attendance  the  present  certificate  in 
triplicate,  one  of  which  will  be  sent  through  H.  Ex. 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  H.  Ex.  the  Ameri 
can  Ambassador  for  delivery  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  two  others  filled  in  the  ar 
chives  of  the  Prefecture  of  the  Seine  and  the  Pre 
fecture  of  Police. 

Thus  done  and  signed  at  Paris,  the  nineteenth  day 
of  May,  1905. 

(Signed) 

J.  DE  SELVES,  Louis  LEPINE,  HORACE  PORTER, 
HENRY  VIGNAUD,  A.  BAILLY-BLANCHARD,  JOHN 
K.  GOWDY,  J.  CAPITAN,  DR.  G.  PAPILLAULT, 
GEO.  HERVE,  A.  JAVAL,  J.  PRAY,  PAUL  WEISS. 

SEAL  OF  THE   MUNICIPALITY   OF  PARIS. 


123 


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